MANSEHRA: The Oghi Tehsil Council, in its concluding session held at the end of the four-year term of local bodies on Thursday, strongly criticised the provincial government for withholding funds and administrative powers of the elected local representatives.

“We are going to complete our four-year term, but it is unfortunate that the government denied us development funds and the powers enshrined in the amended Local Government Act 2013, making it the worst local government system ever introduced in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” tehsil chairman Nawabzada Hassam told the session, which was chaired by acting convener Zahir Khan Swati.

The village and neighbourhood council chairmen, who are members of the tehsil council by virtue of their offices including Amir Shahzad, Wajid Ali Shah, Ijaz Ahmad, Syed Hayat Shah, Mohammad Imran, Anwar Islam, Yasin Tanoli, Iftikhar Awan and Ziaur Rehman Qamar participated in the debate during the final session and strongly denounced the provincial government for denying funds and powers to tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils during their four-year term in power.

“I am proud to say that although we were denied funds and could not execute even a single development scheme in our respective councils and constituencies, we remained united and conducted the affairs of this august house in a cordial atmosphere and in the larger public interest,” Mr Hassam said. Most of the councillors stood up in support of the creation of the proposed Agror-Tanawal district, saying that the chief minister had already announced its establishment and should fulfil that commitment.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2026