July 22, 2006	Saturday	Jumadi-ul-Sani 25, 1427

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ABBOTTABAD, July 21: Speakers at a seminar on Thursday said creation of new provinces on the basis of population will ameliorate people’s sense of deprivation and create suitable conditions for serving the masses without discrimination among people and the masses will be served without any discrimination.

The seminar on “Provincial Autonomy and Federalism from Local Pint of View” was organised by a German-funded NGO – Friedrich Naumann Stiftung – in collaboration with the Liberal Forum of Pakistan at a local hotel.

Gulmina Bilal of the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung and Asif Khan of the Liberal Forum briefed the participants about objectives of the seminar.

The participants discussed various issues faced by people. They said these problems could have been resolved at the local level but remained unresolved due to unequal distribution of powers and lack of coordination among different agencies.

They were of the view that establishment of a democratic culture in the country – from the federal to the union council level – would enable people to find solution to their problems.

The speakers called upon federal and provincial governments to fulfil their constitutional obligations by transferring powers to the grassroots level. However, they said, supremacy of the centre should be maintained so that it had control over the federating units.

They said there should be a balance between the centre and the provinces in terms of control over different subjects, adding the culture of tolerance should be promoted.

They claimed the local bodies system was being ignored which had discouraged people who wanted to launch development schemes and take part in forming public safety commissions.

Mulana Kifiyat Ullah, naib nazim of Mansehra; Mustafa Jadoon, former nazim of the Abbottabad district; Adam Khan Jadoon, former president of the Peshawar High Court Bar Association, Abbottabad bench; Saeed Mughal, nazim of the Jahngi union council; Ibrar Saeed Mehdi, naib nazim of the City Urban union council; Sardar Abrar Rasheed, journalist; and Jehanzeb Khan, lawyer, also spoke.