PESHAWAR: The district nazims and naib nazims of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa here on Monday threatened to launch a protest movement across the province if government abolished the district tier of the local government or wound up the system before completion of its tenure.

They demanded of Prime Minister Imran Khan to revisit his decision regarding the proposed abolition of the district tier of the local government.

They said that they would not allow the provincial government to deprive people of their leadership at district level.

They expressed these views at a convention of nazims and naib nazims from across the province here at a local hotel.

Addressing the convention, Shangla nazim Niaz Ahmed said that if the district council was abolished then the nazims would immediately challenge it in the court.

Say decision of govt to be challenged in court

“Protest will be launched across the province and in Islamabad if provincial government doesn’t revise its decision to abolish the district council,” he said.

Mr Ahmed said that Prime Minister Imran Khan on the one hand was making tall claims on all forums to strengthen the local bodies system in the country while on the other hand he and his party decided to abolish the district tier of the local bodies.

“It is violation of Article 140-A of the Constitution and spirit of the local government system,” said the Shangla nazim. The Article 140-A states: “Each province shall, by law, establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative and financial responsibility and authority to the elected representatives of the local governments.”

He said that abolishing of the district tier was tantamount to the abolishment of the local government system because 20 provincial government departments had been devolved to the district under the existing local government system.

All the devolved departments would definitely be provincialised with doing away the district tier of the local government in violation of the Constitution, he added. Local Council Association chairman Himayatullah Mayar demanded of the prime minister not to abolish the district tier and let the local government system complete its tenure that would end in August 2019.

“We ask Imran Khan to sit with us and discuss the proposed abolishing of the district tier. If he convinces us, he should abolish it but if we convince him then he should strengthen it,” he said.

Mr Mayar said that Pervez Musharraf had introduced a good local government system, which was framed by the technocrats having inputs from the people.

He demanded of the government to introduce that system with amendments for further improvement.

Tank nazim Mustafa Kundi said that the local government system in the province needed improvement though it was far better than the system of other provinces.

“I approached Imran Khan several times regarding reforms in the local government system of KP but received a shut up call,” he said. Abbottabad nazim Sardar Said Anawr expressed his astonishment as to what the government was doing with the local government.

He said that middle class leadership of the political parties would be out from the race for the office of mayor if government enforced its decision that mayor would be elected by the people instead of the council.

Mr Sardar said that direct election of mayor would require a lot of resources.

Published in Dawn, October 9th, 2018