LAHORE, Oct 17: Restoration of executive magistracy without irritating the judiciary will be the top agenda item at a meeting of all provinces to be held in Islamabad on Oct 25, sources told Dawn on Wednesday.The idea was launched in 2010 but has been lying in cold storage despite cherished desire of all provincial governments to re-introduce the executive magistracy eliminated under the Musharraf regime’s devolution plan.

Under the present scheme of things, the magistracy cannot be restored without amending the CrPC at federal government level.

According to some experts, even the federal government cannot do this after a Balochistan High Court judgment on the issue.

Resistance by the judiciary and police, the two institutions which have been wielding some of the powers withdrawn from the executive magistracy after ‘devolution of powers’ is also considered a major hurdle in its revival.

The discussion on the executive magistracy has been brought on the agenda by the federal Inter-provincial Coordination Division which is organising the Oct 25 meeting.

According to sources, Punjab and other provinces had forwarded their ideas on how to restore the executive magistracy to the federal government in 2010. But the concept was never discussed afterwards.

Now, they said, the federal government had itself proposed to discuss the issue. “Every province agrees that the executive magistracy should be restored. But in the Oct 25 meeting they will decide how to do this without annoying the judiciary, giving the executive magistracy only those powers which are necessary for effective administration,” an official said.

So far as provinces are concerned, Punjab is going to table three demands --- a decision on the Industrial Relations Ordinance, supply of power to Faisalabad’s Ayub Agriculture Research Institute on normal rates, and provision of all seized opium to Punjab’s opium factory for its proper and legal usage.

Punjab believes that opium seized by law enforcement agencies is either burnt or stolen or resold to drug pushers. If given to the Punjab factory it could be used in making medicines.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wants electricity for tube-wells on lower rates, a policy on the absorption of the federal government employees in the provincial service, a fair treatment to vehicles registered by it in other provinces and permission to export excess wheat.

Sources consider the demand for permission to export wheat another important item on the meeting’s agenda because if accepted it would also benefit other provinces, mainly Punjab.