PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is working on a proposal to restore the district tier of the local government system in the province that was abolished in 2019, official sources claim.

The top tier of local bodies in the province was done away with prior to the previous LG elections and implemented the local government system at the level of tehsil and village and neighbourhood councils.

Official sources told Dawn that the local government department had proposed amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act, 2013, for the restoration of the district tier.

They said the local government department had already forwarded the law with draft amendments to the law department for vetting. The sources said that a summary in that respect had also been submitted to local government minister Meena Khan Afridi for approval.

LG dept has forwarded draft amendments to law dept for vetting

“With the approval of the minister, the summary will be sent to Chief Minister Sohail Afridi for consent,” a source said.

Besides the restoration of the district tier of the LG system, the department has also proposed to increase the size of population covering a village and neighbourhood council from the existing 5,000 to 10,000 and the existing 25,000 to 35,000, respectively.

Regarding the powers and functions of the district tier, sources said that it would be too early to say anything about their functions.

They further said that the government had yet not decided about which departments would be in the domain of the district tier that was devolved to the tehsil tier or retained by the provincial government prior to abolition of the district tier in 2019.

The first phase of local body elections was held in December 2021 in half of the province, while in the remaining districts, polls were held in the second phase in May 2022.

The four-year tenure of those elected in the first phase was completed on March 15, 2026. The councillors elected in the second phase will complete their tenure on June 30, 2026.

Under the Election Act, 2017, the Election Commission of Pakistan was bound to hold local body elections within 120 days of the expiry of the tenure of local bodies.

When contacted, Local Council Association president Himayatullah Mayar said he had seen the proposed law amendments, which showed the government’s plans to restore the district tier of the LG system with the power of only monitoring and supervision in violation of the Constitution.

He said that Article 140-A of the Constitution clearly declared, “each province should establish a local government system and devolve political, administrative, and financial responsibility to elected local representatives.”

Mr Mayar said in the instant case, he said that the provincial government was intending only to give the monitoring and supervision role to the elected representatives at district level.

“In the absence of legitimate powers with the local government’s representatives, the bureaucracy will have the supreme role in the LG system,” he said.

The association leader said that the LG system introduced by President General Musharaf was much better than the current one as at that time, 28 government departments were devolved to local bodies compared with24 departments currently working under the system introduced by the PTI in 2013.

He said that the previous LG system was “toothless” as the PTI not only abolished the district tier but also reduced the number of devolved departments to nine at tehsil level.

Mr Mayar, who was also the mayor of Mardan city, said prior to the abolition of the LG system’s district tier, the provincial government was legally bound to give 30 per cent funds of the provincial Annual Development Programme to local bodies, but the percentage was later reduced to 20.

He said that since the provincial government was going to restore the district tier, it should also increase the share of local bodies in the ADP funds to 30 per cent.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2026