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| December 12, 2003 | Friday | Shawwal 17, 1424 |
Date for polls after PM’s return: NRB: Ministry averse to LG system
ISLAMABAD, Dec 11: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali will announce the final date for holding local government elections in Islamabad after his return from the UN summit in Geneva, said Chairman National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) Daniyal Aziz at a press conference here on Thursday.
Mr Aziz said the prime minister was keen to introduce local government system in the federal capital as it had already been delayed for two years. He said all arrangements had been finalized in this regard.
However, sources in the interior ministry and the NRB said both the institutions were passing on the responsibility to each other for the purpose.
The NRB claimed that it had completed the plan for holding local government polls in the capital. However, the interior ministry was reluctant to ensure devolution of power to grassroots level in Islamabad.
An official of the NRB said according to a decision taken by the government, local bodies elections in Islamabad, Federally-Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and all cantonments areas of the country would be held simultaneously.
He said the ministry had some reservation and it was trying to get the election plan for the capital withdrawn.
The NRB official said the interior ministry had submitted some reservations to the NRB, opposing the holding of local government polls in the capital.
He said the interior ministry was of the view that due to sensitivity and presence of diplomats, parliamentarians and top- level bureaucrats in the federal capital, local government system should not be introduced in the city.
When contacted, an official of the interior ministry told Dawn that the NRB was using delaying tactics in holding local government polls in Islamabad.
He said linking election in Islamabad with those in Fata and cantonment areas was the main reason for delay in the setting up of local government system in the capital.
The armed forces, he added, had some reservation regarding local government ordinance promulgated specifically for the cantonment areas. The ordinance had been amended again according to the demand of the armed forces, he said.
He said the amendment to the local government ordinance for the cantonment areas had caused the delay in holding elections in Islamabad, cantonment areas and Fata.
Another official in the NRB said the National Steering Committee on Devolution would meet shortly to fix the date of the polls in Fata, cantonments areas and Islamabad.
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