PESHAWAR: Leaders at a multiparty conference here on Saturday rejected the proposed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government (amendment) Bill 2019 and warned that the opposition parties would strongly resist the move in and outside the provincial assembly in addition to challenging it in the Peshawar High Court.

The conference was held at the Peshawar Press Club where prominent among those who shared their views included Jamaat-i-Islami MPA Inayatullah Khan, Qaumi Watan Party leader Sikandar Hayat Sherpao, Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl leader Ghulam Ali and PML-N leaders Ikhtiar Wali and Intikhab Chamkani.

The participants through a unanimously adopted resolution opposed the amendments in Local Government Act of 2013 and vowed that they would strongly resist in the provincial assembly and also knock the door of court if the provincial government passed the proposed local government (amendment) bill 2019 without proper consultation with the relevant stakeholders.

Leaders ask govt to take all stakeholders into confidence over bill

Inayatullah Khan, also a former senior minister for local government, said that the provincial government had introduced certain amendments in the KP Local Government Bill, 2019, by abolishing the seat of district nazim and the district council besides introducing many other changes to the exiting LG law in the province.

He said that the changes in the law were against the relevant clauses of previous LG Act 2013, which was a complete law and introduced in proper consultation with all concerned stakeholders.

The JI lawmaker said that the passage of any legislation in haste and without taking relevant people or stakeholders and institutions on board would not bring any fruitful results.

He said that the provincial government was bound to hold proper deliberations before making changes to the original local bodies’ law as it pertained to the interests of millions of people.

The amendments in the proposed KP Local Government Bill 2019, he said, were approved by the provincial cabinet in order to meet the Election Commission of Pakistan’s deadline of April 30 regarding any amendment in LG Act 2013.

Sikandar Sherpao said that the amendments had reduced the powers of local government representatives for which no proper consultation was made with the relevant stakeholders, adding that it was against the spirit of democracy.

He said that if the government desired to make changes to the existing KP LG Act it should take all political parties and civil society on board in this regard.

PML-N provincial secretary information Ikhtiar Wali said that the rulers had failed to deliver. He said that levelling baseless charges against opposition parties’ leaders and implicating people in false cases could not be called performance of the government.

Former JUI-F senator Ghulam Ali said that Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf had always claimed to introduce exemplary local government system, but it could not materialise its commitment. He also raised objections to the results of 2015 local government elections and said that same was the position of 2018 general elections where PTI was brought to power through a controlled election system.

The JUI-F, he said, would join hands with all those who would make efforts to save the country in the prevailing situation.

Intikhab Chamkani said that all the political parties should join hands to resist the amendments to the local government law.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2019