LAHORE, Aug 15: Data Ganj Bakhsh Town Nazim Khwaja Hassaan announced his resignation after the no-confidence motion against him was carried by a majority vote in a secret ballot in the town council here on Friday.
Khwaja Hassaan, who could hold the Town Nazim office pending the endorsement of the no-trust motion by a majority of the 33 union councils in the town, said he was quitting the office because he did not want the people down to the union council level put to test.
All 46 members of the town council participated in the secret ballot. Thirty voted in favour of the motion and 16 against it. Majority of the councillors left the council office after casting their votes and were not present to hear the results.
The town council adopted the no-confidence motion against the Nazim only a month and a half after giving a unanimous vote of confidence early last month.
The council expressed no confidence against the Nazim, who had not been elected by its vote under the procedure prescribed in the Punjab Local Government Ordinance. The no-confidence vote was to take effect after being endorsed by the majority of the 33 union councils in the town whose councillors elected the Nazim in 2001.
Initiating proceedings of the council session, Naib Nazim Mian Usman said it had been convened because two members had levelled certain allegations against the Nazim and expressed no confidence against him. He said the council had a right to express no confidence against the Nazim in case it found that the town affairs were not being managed properly.
Mover Mian Azhar Javed declined Mian Usman’s offer to read out the text of his no-trust motion at the commencement of the session, saying he neither wanted to repeat the allegations nor say anything in support of the same.
Shahzad Azam, who had seconded the no-trust motion, said he did not support the allegations contained in the motion. He said he had never thought that his name would be included in Mir Jaffers and Sadiqs, but he wanted to admit that he had failed to face the circumstances.
He said Hassaan was a pious man and had run the town for two years in an amicable manner. He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf should not differentiate between the PML-N and the PML-Q in district governments as both had voted for him during the referendum. He said the Data Ganj Bakhsh Town had been assailed despite the fact that it had done nothing against the city district or the provincial government. Yousaf Lodhi accused Khwaja Hassaan of nepotism and awarding contracts to the people belonging to a particular party without citing any example. He said the town had failed to remove encroachments and build a hall for holding the council meetings.
Rana Liaqat said the house had been held hostage and the councillors pressurized to become part of the system. He said he had failed to understand as to why the house, which expressed confidence in him on July 5, had now turned against him. He said the people having their eyes on Rs180 million contracts had conspired against the house. He said voting against Hassaan was tantamount to murder of humanity.
Abida Ijaz said Mian Rasheed was the only councillor who had opposed the vote of confidence against Hassaan on July 5. She failed to understand as to why a no confidence had been brought against him suddenly afterwards. She said Hassaan was a great man.
Khwaja Hassaan said he had never harmed any member during his tenure in office. He said differences existed in every house, but there was no justification to throw anyone out of the house because of differences. He denied allegations of nepotism in award of contracts, saying all decisions were taken by the committees comprising members and officers and he only endorsed the same.
He said the town had raised its balance from zero on Aug 14, 2001, to Rs87 million at present. Its budget had increased from Rs80 million to Rs270 million due to the excellent management.
He urged the councillors not to honour their promise or vow (against him) because there was nothing wrong with failure to honour a promise to murder anyone. He said the councillors voting against him would be using their vote like a gun with which they would be shooting him and the system.
The council session was held in the office of the Town Nazim under tight security measures. Police kept the entire area cordoned off and the traffic on the Lower Mall stretch between Chauburji Chowk and MAO College Chowk closed from early morning till the announcement of the results of the voting before Friday prayers.