MANSEHRA, Sept 25: Minister of State for Water and Power Amir Muqam on Sunday said that people had realized the importance of the new local government system as most of their problems during the past four years had been solved at the local level.

He was speaking at a convention of newly-elected representatives of union councils in the Mansehra district organized to muster support for district nazim candidate Sardar Mohammad Yousaf and Mansehra tehsil nazim candidate Mohammed Khurram Hanif Khan.

The minister said some elements had been hatching conspiracies against the local government system for their vested interest.

However, he added, by holding the local government elections on time President Gen Pervez Musharraf had proved that the system would remain intact.

He said it was the prime duty of nazims and councillors to elect honest and trustworthy people to the offices of district and tehsil nazim.

He asked councillors to vote for Sardar Yousaf.

Mr Muqam said Sardar Yousaf had been jointly nominated by the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam, the leader of opposition in the NWFP assembly Shahzada Mohammad Gustasap Khan and major political groups of Mansehra.

He said the federal government was interested in the development of Hazara and added that a project to widen the Karakoram-Hassanabdal Highway had already been approved.

He said that work on the Rs1 billion 220kv grid station in Mansehra would start soon and hoped that the project would help meet the electricity needs of the Mansehra district.

Mr Muqam said that Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had approved electrification of about 100 villages at a cost of Rs20 million and added that efforts would be made to electrify the remaining villages.

Referring to the hardships being faced by the families affected by Tarbela Dam, he said President Musharraf had constituted a commission for compensating such people.

Sardar Yousaf, Shahzada Gustasap, Senators Mohammad Azam Khan Swati and Syed Hidayatullah Shah, and MPAs Mushtaq Ghani, Shujah Salim Khan, Zar Gul Khan and Syed Mazhar Ali Qasim also spoke on the occasion.