MUZAFFARGARH, Feb 15: The district and sessions judge on Thursday summoned a district assembly session on Feb 20 at the district council hall for the approval of the 2006-07 budget which had been held in abeyance since July 19.

The Lahore High Court Multan bench on Feb 6 had asked the D&SJ to call the district assembly session and get the budget approved. District Nazim Sardar Qayyum Jatoi had moved the court seeking it’s intervention against the tactics being employed by the Punjab government for stopping of funds.

The calling of the budget session gave the Jatoi group a thrill because nazims backed by Punjab government wanted to block the session.

On Feb 13, the district administration, on behalf of the Punjab government, had moved the Lahore High Court Multan bench, challenging the lower court’s decision.

The district government requested the court to review the decision as the D&SJ was not a lawful authority to summon and preside over the budget session. But the court took a strong notice of the appeal and rejected it on Feb 14. After this, the district government changed its stance and submitted the court to restore the budget passed by nazims on Jan 20. The appeal also sought the restoration of the naib nazim who was suspended by the court for not calling the budget session. But the court adjourned the case.

This has boasted the morale of the PPP-backed Jatoi group, which is at odds with the Punjab government.

Talking to Dawn, Nazim Mian Muhammad Hussain Munna Sheikh, the district nazim’s chief spokesman, said the district administration wanted to initiate another round of litigation.

He alleged that the district administration wanted to prolong the sufferings of the people in Muzaffargarh. Mr Sheikh said that the Punjab chief minister would now go on the defensive in the Muzaffargarh district.

He said they would resign from the house if they failed to get the budget approved with a huge majority.

The district assembly, he said, had approved the budget on July 19 in the lawns of Fiaz Bashir Park after the police and district administration had locked the doors of the district nazim office.

Syed Ali Raza Shamsi, who was suspended as district nazim by the Lahore High Court, said the Jatoi group would be defeated in the budget session.

Backed by the Punjab government, he said the pro-government nazims would boycott the budget session and the Jatoi group would not be able to complete the quorum for the session.

He said they would also try to get a stay order from the court against the Feb 20 session. He said that he opposed the budget because the district nazim had allocated over Rs1 billion out of a total Rs3.50 billion alone for his hometown.