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| August 6, 2002 | Tuesday | Jamadi-ul-Awwal 26,1423 |
LG polls in Islamabad postponed
ISLAMABAD, Aug 5: The government has indefinitely postponed the local government elections in Islamabad, leaving it to the elected government after October elections to form a district government in the Capital, Dawn learnt from reliable sources.
Earlier, the LG polls were planned in the capital during August.
The draft law for holding the LG polls in the federal capital had been prepared by the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB), but it was not promulgated due to objections made by the interior ministry to its certain provisions.
The NRB had also recommended that the CDA should be abolished in the new set-up.
Politicians, when contacted for their views, said the government had failed to implement its flagship programme of devolution of power in the federal capital as powerful bureaucratic interests prevailed to scuttle any attempts of establishing district government in Islamabad.
“The music of local government is not pleasing to the ears of bureaucracy in the capital and armed forces in the cantonments as the system will ensure their accountability and check the use of arbitrary powers in these areas,” Pakistan Muslim League (N) vice-president Zafar Ali Shah said.
At present, there are 41 cantonments in the country. The NRB reviewed the issue of integrating them in district governments, but no practical steps have so far been taken in this regard.
With just two months remaining before the general elections, Islamabad is the only district left where the devolution of power could not materialize despite the fact that the devolution plan was made for rest of the country in this city, a politician said.
Gen Musharraf, immediately after taking over power on October 17, 1999, defined devolution of power as one of his seven main objectives.
The plan aimed at establishing a three-tier local government system in “every” district of the country.
Since the Election Commission is busy preparing for the general Elections, it will not be possible to hold local government elections in Islamabad, the sources said.
Qaumi Jamhoori Party (QJP) secretary-general Dr Zafar Mirza said the government was not fulfilling its promise of holding local government elections in the capital. He said inordinate delay in holding the elections would give political parties a chance to influence the people, defeating the very purpose of holding non-party based LG elections.
He said elections in Islamabad had been postponed repeatedly on the insistence of “King’s Party” that wanted to have its own candidate as Nazim in the capital.
Information secretary of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf, Akbar S. Babar, said the government lacked will in holding local government elections in the capital.
When contacted for official comments, the NRB spokesperson, Maj Bilal (retired), expressed his inability to confirm if the LG elections in the capital had been postponed.
Senior NRB officials, Naeemul Haque and Brig Saleem, did not respond despite repeated telephone calls. However, sources in the bureau said holding the October 10 general elections was the top priority of the government at the moment.
It would not be possible to hold LG elections in Islamabad as at least three months were required to make administrative arrangements for delimitation of constituencies and preparation of voters’ list.
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