PESHAWAR: Complaining the Peshawar Development Authority and police are creating hurdles for them in the discharge of official duties, the nazims and councillors of Hayatabad union councils 43 and 44 on Saturday warned they would resign en bloc if the provincial government didn’t step in and address their grievances.

They also announced they would protest during the visit of ruling PTI chairman Imran Khan’s visit to Hayatabad tomorrow (Monday).

A group of the local bodies’ elected members led by UC 44 nazim Asfandyar Khan and UC 43 nazim Haji Masood Khan Khattak told a news conference here that the PDA officials were not ready to cooperate with them and instead, they were creating problems for them and thus, hampering their official responsibilities.

“The people have voted for us so we’re to serve them but the PDA officials are harassing us on different pretexts,” Asfandyar Khan said.

Insist PDA, police creating hurdles for them

He said PTI chief Imran Khan would visit Hayatabad tomorrow (Monday) to inaugurate a newly-constructed overhead bridge, where the elected representatives would observe a peaceful protest.

He demanded impartial probe into the incidents.

Nazim Asfandyar Khan said the excessive loadshedding had forced the people into using power generators both in houses and at shops but the PDA officials were seizing generators and arresting the people during the anti-encroachment campaigns.

He said pushcart owners were not allowed to operate even on the roadsides outside markets, commercial centres and shopping plazas and that the police in connivance with the PDA officials minted money from poor vendors.

The nazim said many elected representatives including Haji Masood Khattak and relatives of others had been implicated in false cases and that their shops had been sealed.

He said a few days ago, the shop of councillor Sohail Khan was sealed when he was away and that when the sealing of the shop left a sleeping boy confined inside for around eight hours.

“We complained to the relevant officials against the incident but no action has so far been taken against the culpable officials,” he said.

Mr Asfandyar said both PDA and police had joined hands to target the local government’s representatives and that they weren’t allowed to work for the people’s welfare.

He said the provincial government was indifferent to the misery of nazims and councillors despite repeated requests for intervention.

“We have so far held meetings with the relevant officials including local government minister and LG department secretary and staged a sit-in for many days for powers and offices, but to no avail,” he said.

The nazim said he along with other councillors and nazims would move the court against the PDA officials and police for misusing powers.

Nazim Masood Khattak said the LG department had put up many buildings, including Hayatabad Phase-V community centre, but the PDA was reluctant to allot them to the elected representatives, who had no place to sit and hear public complaints for action.

Councillor Zahid Shinwari warned he alone would start a hunger strike if the demands of the people’s elected representatives were not met.

He said the police openly extorted money from vendors but the relevant authorities were unwilling to act against them despite the people’s repeated complaints.

Published in Dawn, January 17th, 2016