Emir Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) Hafiz Naeemur Rehman demanded that local body polls in the federal capital be held as per the earlier announced schedule.

President Asif Ali Zardari approved an ordinance that introduces several amendments to the Local Government Act 2015. The new ordinance was introduced at a time when the local governments in Islamabad were scheduled to be held on February 15.

Chances are now slim that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will assert holding the elections as scheduled.

“The elections should be held on time and on the basis of nominations that have been done, while the ordinance needs to be abolished and undemocratic practices need to end,” he said, while speaking to the media in Islamabad.

The JI chief claimed the officials did not intend to hold elections as they had also removed a clause in the ordinance that specified its duration of six months.

“Usually, it is considered that the administration of Islamabad is well-established, but the federal capital is facing a severe crisis, including water and infrastructure. No work is being done to address the issues, as elected representation of the people is missing,” said Rehman, questioning who will take responsibility for the federal capital.

Giving an example of heavy rainfall in the city and the lack of a rain harvesting system in the federal capital, the JI chief lamented that “no work” was being done to address such issues.

“It means the government is not fulfilling its responsibilities. They are not holding elections to represent people who are elected from grassroots levels through local government elections,” he said.

Deforestation in Islamabad

Speaking on the issue of deforestation in Islamabad, Rehman strongly condemned the act and said officials had cut at least 40,000 to 50,000 trees, which was detrimental to the environment and to humans.

“You have started cutting trees to achieve your small targets without realising the impact on the environment,” he said.

He demanded to know the reason for the tree-cutting, under whose orders the action was taken, and the names of those responsible.

“The responsibility needs to be fixed and the people involved should be apprehended,” he demanded.

Referring to the National Assembly session held on Tuesday, he said that multiple political parties that were part of the government had discussed the issue in the House.

Questioning the authority of the ruling party, he asked, “Where were they when the trees were being cut?”

He further said that officials were cutting trees and planting saplings in the same areas. “After cutting 40,000 trees, even if they plant the same number of saplings, it would not amount to even five per cent,” he said.