PESHAWAR, Oct 11: The NWFP government is awaiting a reply from Islamabad for the extension of Local Government Ordinance, 2001, to the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas giving legal cover to the recently established district governments in Pata, official sources told Dawn here on Thursday.

Under article 247 of the Constitution, the NWFP governor is required to separately notify the application of any piece of legislation to Pata.

Hence, said the legal experts and official sources, the NWFP Local Government Ordinance, 2001, promulgated on Aug 13, was also required to be extended through an executive order by the provincial governor to make it effective in Pata in the form a regulation.

However, to enforce a regulation in Pata, approval from the president of Pakistan is mandatory in line with the constitutional provisions.

After a belated thought on the part of the provincial authorities concerned, the NWFP government moved Islamabad seeking the President’s approval for extending the Ordinance’s coverage to Pata.

“The reply from the Centre is still awaited,” said a senior officer of the provincial government.

Failure on the part of the provincial authorities in seeking the president’s approval at a right time to enforce the regulation has rendered all administrative acts and duties, being performed by Pata’s district governments, without lawful authority.

Senior officers of the NWFP law department said that upon its enforcement in Pata the regulation would take effect from back date, giving cover to all the administrative acts and businesses performed since the introduction of local government system on Aug 14.

Official sources in the Home and Tribal Affairs department, NWFP, — supervising the affairs of Pata — said that a reply from the Centre was awaited to extend the Ordinance’s coverage to Pata.

However, none of the officers from amongst the authorities of the home and tribal affairs department, the local government department and law department appeared ready to accept the responsibility for the delay.