SWABI/CHARSADDA: The chairmen of Razaar, Topi and Chota Lahor tehsil councils belonging to Awami National Party, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl led a protest demonstration in Swabi and members of Charsadda tehsil council held a rally to press the provincial government to release development funds to them.

In Swabi, the demonstration was staged outside the deputy commissioner’s office. The chairmen backed by various local government representatives said that the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s provincial government should stop discrimination against the elected leaders of the opposition parties and release funds to them.

They protesters from the three tehsils blocked the Swabi-Topi road to traffic in front of the DC office in Swabi district headquarters.

Charsadda councillors also show concern at non-release of funds

The village and neighbourhood councils’ chairmen and councillors participated in the demonstration and raised slogans against the KP government.

They regretted that the local governments had completed a year, but neither powers nor development funds had been given to them.

ANP’s Razaar tehsil chairman Ghulam Ahmad Haqqani said that by not issuing funds the KP government wanted to take revenge for the PTI’s failure in the local body elections.

Chota Lahor tehsil chairman Mohammad Adil and Topi tehsil chairman Rahim Jadoon said the provincial government was doing injustice to the people by not giving funds to the local body representatives.

Mohammad Qaiser Shah, a member of Swabi tehsil council, said the PTI government was making a mockery of the public mandate by not giving funds and powers to them.

In Charsadda, the tehsil council members took out a protest rally on Tuesday against the denial of powers and funds to the local governments in the province.

Earlier, a meeting of the council was held to review the situation one year after the inception of local governments here.

Addressing the council meeting, tehsil chairman Mufti Abdul Rauf Shakir said the delay in the transfer of powers to the local governments had adversely affected the development projects at the local level.

He said that not giving authority to the elected representatives had been delaying resolution of people’s problems at the grassroots level.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2022