HARIPUR, Feb 24: National Reconstruction Bureau Chairman Danial Aziz on Saturday said that the `charter of democracy’ signed between the PML-N and PPP was based on antagonism towards the local government system because Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif deemed this institution a threat to their way of politics.

“Getting rid of the local government system is the topmost preference of the charter of democracy both the parties agreed upon,” he said this while addressing participants of the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected members of the CCB Network and village councils here.

Former foreign minister Gohar Ayub Khan, Minister of State for Finance Omar Ayub Khan, MPA Qazi Mohammad Asad Khan, district nazim Yousaf Ayub Khan and DTCE chairman Zafar Hayat Malik also attended the ceremony.

Mr Aziz said that anti-democratic forces, which were opposed to the basic idea of empowering people and devolving power to the grassroots level, were bent on disintegrating the system of district governments.

“They are afraid of losing the grip on power that wielded for decades,” he said, adding that the political parties having this type of mentality had failed to steer the communities out of petty politics of streets and roads.

Mr Aziz said the present government had introduced the district government system for bringing an end to the obsolete political culture that prevailed for decades in the country. “To achieve the objectives of empowering the marginalised communities, the government is taking steps to see this institution flourishing and making the people feel a sense of responsibility and ownership.”