LAHORE, Nov 12: The Punjab administration has literally ‘hijacked’ the City District Government of Lahore as District Nazim Mian Amer Mahmood has been ‘missing’ for the last many months.

He was last seen at an unofficial dinner he had thrown for Jamaat-i-Islami leaders on the Jinnah Hall lawns during the party’s three-day congregation in the last week of October.

It is to be mentioned here that only two sessions of the district council have been held since the PML-N took charge of the province after the Feb 18 elections -- one in March and the other in July. The law requires that the house must meet once a month.

The vacuum caused by the mysterious absence of the district chief executive is being filled by the provincial government by instituting a parallel system – establishing task forces on transport, road infrastructure development, food prices, etc., -- making illegal appointments (Wasa vice-chairman though the post does not exist in the law) and using all powers of the district nazim through the district coordination officer (DCO).

Mian Amer is not in the picture in any project or scheme like fumigation for curbing spread of dengue virus, sasti roti scheme and road rehabilitation project being launched in the city.

He is also not opposing or resisting any of the moves. As he is not available for comments though repeated attempts have been made at his cell phone and residence, some of his colleagues in the local government say he is busy launching his personal (new) projects.

The district nazim, they say, has called on PML-N patron Nawaz Sharif and Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif twice to reach an understanding that neither of the parties will act against each other and will keep a status quo. They say all in the CDGL is being done on an understanding between him and the PML-N.

A district council member, who wished not to be named, wonders why the party is not replacing the ‘inactive’ nazim through a no-trust motion or any other ‘action’ and is allowing him to continue in his office, though he is seen nowhere in the CDGL affairs. Had there been no understanding, he argues, the nazim would have confronted the ‘illegal’ steps of the provincial government.

“If a union council nazim can challenge and, through the court, get rolled back the provincial government’s decision of assigning the sanitation task of the CDGL to MPAs, the district nazim is certainly more suitable to challenge illegal moves of the government.”

Two important tasks – running the house implementation committee and settling the issue of FIR registered against Mian Amer and some others for a dispute in the March session of the house – are lingering on for want of his attention and presence, he adds.

The law says the naib nazim can assume the duties of the nazim provided the latter resigns or passes away. But there is no provision in the law about an ‘inactive’ or ‘missing’ nazim, he points out.