However, till the filing of this report no written notification was communicated to the district DCOs who will be required to look after the districts in place of the nazims.

Pir Shafqat of Mirpurkhas, when contacted by this correspondent, described it as a wrong decision which "negates the very essence of the Sindh Local Government Ordinance which has no such provision where a nazim could be restrained from working or suspended".

The district's DCO declined to make any comment saying he had not received any written notification. He, however, said that in his opinion the decision had been taken in the wake of the creation of the new districts which meant that the electoral colleges of the previous districts did not exist any more.

The Nazim of Dadu, Malik Asad Sikandar, told Dawn that he had not been officially informed about the decision. But if that was done, he said, he would go to court and also approach President Pervez Musharraf and the NRB.

Leader of the opposition in Sindh assembly Nisar Ahmed Khuhro criticized the government move and said that the removal of the four Awam Dost nazims was an insult to people's mandate.

Talking to journalists in Larkana on Wednesday night, he said that the decision had been taken in 'haste' which spoke of the 'indecisiveness' of the government. The district nazim of Larkana, Mr Khursheed Junejo, said he would challenge the decision in court. He said that the Local Government Ordinance did not allow the removal of a district nazim before elections.

He said that in Balochistan also such a decision was taken after new districts had been created but the district nazims were not removed. In Jacobabad, Zila nazim Shabbir Ali Bijarani told Dawn that he would file a petition against the Sindh government in the Sindh high court. He said that the suspended nazims would work out a joint strategy in a few days.