PESHAWAR: Two opposition members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly have challenged in the Peshawar High Court the non-appointment of chairmen of district development advisory committees (DDACs) in six districts of the province by the provincial government.

A petition was jointly filed by MPAs of Pakistan Peoples Party Parliamentarian Ahmad Kundi and Ehsanullah Khan seeking directives of the court for the government to appoint chairmen of the DDACs in Dera Ismail Khan, North Waziristan, Upper Dir, Upper Chitral, Kurram and Lower Kohistan.

They also requested the court to direct the government to make the bodies fully functional in the said districts.

The petition filed through Barrister Sultan Mohammad Khan included the chief minister, the chief secretary, principal secretary to the chief minister and secretary local government department as respondents.

The petitioners stated that DDAC was an important and vital link in the governance structure, especially in the utilisation of developmental funds in a legal and transparent manner.

They stated that DDAC’s working was regulated by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Establishment of District Development Advisory Committees Act, 1989 (DDAC Act).

The petitioner said on July 18, 2024, a letter was issued by the chief minister to the secretary local government wherein orders were communicated for appointment of chairmen DDACs of 28 districts.

They said that on July 19 another letter was issued directing the appointment of the chairmen of two further districts as well as amending the earlier letter by changing the names of chairmen of two districts.

The petitioners stated that the combined effect of the two letters/directives was to appoint the chairmen of DDACs for 30 districts in the province.

They said these 30 chairmen were all MPAs affiliated with the ruling party in KP.

They stated that the remaining six districts had been deprived of chairmen DDAC, and thus this important institution was non-functional there.

They said the respondents were time and again approached by them at every legal forum, including the floor of the assembly, to stop the discrimination with the remaining districts of the province only because the people of those districts had elected a majority of opposition MPAs.

However, they said all their efforts pointing out injustice and discrimination with the common people of the remaining districts had fallen on deaf ears.

They contended that by not appointing the chairmen DDACs in the remaining districts of the province the people of the said districts were robbed of their fundamental right to social and economic development.

The PPP lawmakers contended that being elected public representatives they had a genuine cause of action to approach this court to correct the illegalities and discrimination being committed by the respondents.

Published in Dawn, August 24th, 2024