PESHAWAR, Aug 4: The district Nazims have refused to withdraw their resignations until the restoration of their powers enshrined in the Local Government Ordinance 2001.

The demand was made during a meeting between district Nazims and minister for local government and rural development Sardar Mohammad Idrees.

“We will continue to negotiate with nazims on this issue. We will convene another meeting within a week to discuss all the issues with them,” Sardar Idrees said.

Nowshera Nazim Pervez Khattak, who is also convener of the Action Committee, accused the bureaucracy of having encroached upon their powers during the previous government, adding that the situation was no different during the present government.

“We have provided details (in this regard) to the National Reconstruction Bureau and apprised all the concerned quarters about it. But, the government has yet not taken any concrete step in this regard. It is their collective decision not to withdraw their resignations till the restoration of all powers,” he added.

If the provincial government, he said, restored their powers, they would cooperate with it.

Peshawar Nazim Azam Afridi said that it was not easy to resolve such a complex matter in a few days, adding that the minister for local government had made considerable efforts in this regard.

Expressing the hope that the government would not misuse the Local Government Commission, Mr Afridi said that the commission should not be used to ridicule the public representatives, adding that it should confine itself to inspections and audit affairs.

He asked the government to appoint an ombudsmen in every district to check the wrongdoings.

Sardar Idrees assured the nazims that the government would consult district nazims to remove ambiguities in the ordinance.