RAWALPINDI, Nov 15: The local government elections in the cantonments are likely to be held in March next year, Dawn has learnt through well-placed sources on Thursday.

Earlier, the elections were scheduled to be held in September this year. However, the elections were postponed because of the crisis situation after the terrorist attacks in the US and developments in neighbouring Afghanistan. Moreover, the sources said, the National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) had also failed to make arrangements for the elections in September.

The sources said though there was a little chance that these elections would be further postponed, however, it was certain that these would be held before the general elections in the country.

On the other hand, there is a total confusion as to what kind of system will be introduced in the cantonments as army will not like to hand over the hold of cantonments to the elected Nazims and councillors. “The army will never let the elected representatives have exclusive powers in their areas. Democracy is not so strong in Pakistan,” an official of the Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) commented.

An NRB official, when contacted, said necessary amendments in the constitution might be made with regard to cantonments in order to make it compatible with the local government ordinance.

Meanwhile, the RCB officials are concerned over their future in the new local government set-up. “I don’t know where we are going to be dumped after the local government elections,” a cantonment official remarked.

Brig (Rtd) Saleem, the in-charge of the local government system in cantonments, when contacted, said work was going on for bringing the devolution plan to the cantonments.

So far, no final decision had been made regarding the structure of the cantonments in the local government system, he added.