PESHAWAR: Ignoring the outcry of the opposition, the treasury in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Friday passed a bill to postpone local body elections in the province until Aug 2021 in light of the coronavirus-induced emergency.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Epidemic Control and Emergency Relief Bill, 2020, sailed through the house to provide for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in the province to provide relief to the people in emergency situation.

The KP Epidemic Control and Emergency Relief Ordinance, 2020, was promulgated on June 1 which provides for non-holding of the required local government elections until the continuation of the declaration of the health emergency.

The ordinance will expire on Aug 10.

The government had declared health emergency from June 1 to Aug 10 across the province under an ordinance following the outbreak of Covid-19.

Opposition calls govt move unlawful, insists ECP will strike it down

Special assistant to the chief minister for local government Kamran Bangash moved a resolution for the passage of the bill during the session chaired by Deputy Speaker Mahmood Jan.

Member of the opposition Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal Inayatullah Khan moved a proposed amendment to Section 31 of the bill.

The chair put it to vote after detailed discussion. However, it was defeated with 38-20 votes.

Section 31 of the Act says the transition period of six months for establishment of new local government system provided under Section 120A of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013 (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Act No. XXVIII of 2013) shall be read as two years.

According to it, provided the election or any proceeding incidental thereto or ancillary therewith of any local governments or a vacancy arising therein shall not be conducted during the currency of declaration under Section 3 of the Act.

Defending his amendment, Inayatullah Khan said under the Election Act, 2017, the holding of local body elections was the mandate of the Election Commission of Pakistan.

He said the law bound the ECP to hold polls within four months of the expiry of the four years tenure of local bodies.

“Section 31 of the Act is unlawful and illegal and the ECP will strike it down,” he said. The opposition lawmaker said the provincial government could request the ECP to postpone local body elections over valid grounds.

He said general elections would be held after two years and therefore, the ECP would not be able to conduct two elections simultaneously.

Aide of the chief minister Kamran Bangash disagreed with the opposition member’s stance and said the government would take up the matter with the ECP.

He said the ECP was bound by the Constitution to hold consultation with the relevant provincial government on the holding of the local body elections.

The new law gives wide-ranging powers to the ‘designated officers’ for placing multiple restrictions on people and establishments and try them summarily for offences in the Covid-19-related emergency.

The assembly extended the Federally Administered Tribal Area Development Authority Regulation (Repeal) Ordinance, 2020, and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Khasaddar Force Ordinance 2020, for three months.

Earlier, Ravi Kumar of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf complained on a point of order about derogatory social media messages against Hindu faith regarding the construction of a proposed temple in Islamabad.

He said vested interests were trying to create lawlessness in society by uploading such messages.

The lawmaker said the Hindu community would accept the decision of the state institutions regarding the temple construction.

He demanded of the Federal Investigation Agency to act against people behind those messages under the cyber crimes law.

Nighat Yasmin Orakzai of the Pakistan Peoples Party condemned former spokesperson for the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan Ehsanullah Ehsan, who escaped from custody lately, for issuing death threats to her party’s chairperson, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari.

She demanded that institutions explain reasons for the escape of Ihsanullah Ihsan from their custody.

The chair adjourned the sitting until July 24 due to a lack of quorum.

Published in Dawn, July 18th, 2020