PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court on Wednesday sought a notification from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government issued by it for formation of a committee to look into issues related to local governments in the province.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Mohammad Faheem Wali issued the order in a petition filed by several heads of different categories of local governments, seeking extension of their tenure by making amendments in the local government law.

The petition was jointly filed by 29 mayors and chairmen of different city local governments, tehsil local governments, neighbourhood and village councils including Mardan city government mayor Himayatullah Mayar and others.

They have requested the court to direct the KP government through its chief secretary and other respondents to extend tenure of petitioners one time for a period of three years through amendment in Section 79 of KP Local Government Act, 2013.

Local council heads want their tenure extended for three years

They also requested the court to facilitate the petitioners by giving administrative and financial authority to them in accordance with the law. The petition includes KP chief secretary, its secretaries of local government and law and parliamentary affairs as respondents.

Petitioners’ counsel Babar Khan Yousafzai contended that under Section 30 of KP Local Government Act (KPLGA) money and grants had to be received from government or other authorities in Pakistan by local governments but so far no such grants were being received and without receiving the same the 131 tehsil councils throughout the province were unable to present their annual budget.

He stated that under the law, the devolved offices needed to be handed over to elected mayors/chairmen but the same had not been handed over to elected representatives till date due to which all those offices were almost non-functional.

He said that local government elections were held in the province in two phases on December 19, 2021, and March 31, 2022. He stated that there were 131 tehsil councils throughout the province and petitioners like other mayors/chairmen were representing more than 50 million residents of the province.

The counsel argued that since the assumption of charge of their respective offices, all the mayors/chairmen and members of local councils had not been handed over their financial and administrative authorities to run affairs of their offices.

Moreover, he pointed out that during the course of general election of Feb 2024, all the local councils throughout the province had been suspended and the suspension period needed to be condoned from the tenure of the present elected councils.

He contended that Article 140-A of the Constitution of Pakistan provided establishment of a local government system and devolving political, administrative and financial responsibilities and authority to the elected representatives.

He said that they lacked their political, administrative and financial responsibilities since assumption of charge which was a clear violation of articles 32 and 140-A of the Constitution.

An additional advocate general informed the bench that recently the government had constituted a committee through a notification for looking into issues related to local governments. He stated that the points raised by the petitioners would be discussed by that committee.

The bench directed him to produce the notification about formation of the said committee.

Published in Dawn, January 29th, 2026