RAWALPINDI, Jan 23: The public secretariats set up by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) parliamentarians after sweeping the general election in Rawalpindi to address the problems of their constituents are now wearing a deserted look.

The establishment of the secretariats was much trumpeted by the PML-N MPs, MPAs and they had pledged to sit regularly there with the aim to resolve the problems of their respective constituents.

However, people to their disappointment visit these offices and find no MNA or MPA inside except for huge portraits of Sharif brothers and the banners of the parliamentarians.

A group of people standing in front of public secretariat of MNA Hanif Abbasi and MPA Raja Hanif told Dawn on Wednesday that they had visited the offices twice but found nobody inside.

“Where we go to meet an MNA or MPA to whom we have cast votes, we are told that he (Sahib) is busy and try to come some other day. Nobody has time for us we are disappointed by the attitudes of our leaders,” Mohammed Saleem, Raza Khan, Javed Humayun and few other residents of Gulshanabad (Pind Dadan Khan) who had voted for MNA Hanif Abbasi complained.

It is to be mentioned here that the elected representatives of PML-N in local government system are in small number; therefore, the PML-N supporters cannot approach union council nazims or councilors for resolution of their issues.

On the other hand, the PML-Q and PPP have a significant number of elected representatives in local government though these political parties have no MNA or MPA from Rawalipndi except for Raja Pervez Ashraf of PPP who got his seat from Gujar Khan.

MNA Malik Ibrar and his brother MPA Malik Iftikhar from cantonment area are also being criticized for not sitting in their public secretariats leaving the people with no option but to contact former MNA Zamurd Khan who gives a little bit time to his public secretariat for facilitating his supporters.

Residents complain that the problems faced to them in police stations, courts, civic agencies and other government offices were not resolved mainly because the MNAs and MPAs elected by them were quite difficult to be approached.

Similarly, MPAs like Sheharyar Riaz, Ziaullah Shah and Advocate Raja Hanif do not sit in their public offices except for MNA Haji Pervez who devotes time to his secretariat in Kohati Bazar and listens to the voters’ problems.

The public hearings are held nowhere in Rawalpindi which used to be popular activities in the city in the regime of PML-Q as the then chief minister Punjab Chaudhry Pervez Elahi had directed parliamentarians from Rawalpindi to hold public hearing for knowing about the burning issues faced by their constituents.