LB polls in capital to be held on party basis

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Wednesday passed the “Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill, 2015” accommodating amendments of the Senate seeking holding of elections in the capital for the first time in history on party basis.
The bill was moved by Minister of State for Interior Muhammad Balighur Rehman.Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan, while speaking on the floor of the House, said the government had accepted all the amendments proposed by the opposition in the Senate. He said it was for the first time that the local government elections would be held in the federal capital. He said the PML-N government held the local government elections in the country in 1987, 1991, 1998 and was going to hold these elections now.
Chaudhry Nisar rejected the impression that the undemocratic governments held the local government elections more times than the elected governments. He said the local government elections during the undemocratic governments were aimed at putting off the general elections. He said all the political parties wanted local government elections and it was also a constitutional obligation.
The minister said there were differences among political parties over the holding of local government polls in Islamabad on party or non-party basis. He said long discussions were held in the Upper House and the Senate standing committee on the bill and credit of clearing the way for the local government elections in Islamabad goes to all the political forces.
Chaudhry Nisar expressed the hope that the Senate having representation of all the political parties would clear the bill at the earliest.Balighur Rehman said that the bill was passed by the National Assembly. However, he said the Senate proposed certain amendments including holding the elections on party basis after thorough discussion and public hearings.
Asad Umar of the PTI said that the bill should be referred to the standing committee as there were some minor mistakes in its draft. He said that administrative and financial authority should also be given to local bodies representatives.
Asif Hasnain of the MQM said his party had tabled local bodies elections bill in the House and their recommendations should also be incorporated in it. He said that powers should be given to mayor and local bodies should not be under the control of the federal government. under the control of the federal government.
Shah Mehmood Qureshi of the PTI said that legislation should not be done in haste and it should be referred to the committee.
Ghulam Sarwar and Shafqat Mehmood of the PTI and Iqbal Muhammad Ali and Rehan Hashmi of the MQM also called for giving more powers to local bodies representatives.
Imran Zafar Laghari appreciated the local government system in the capital but said powers should be given to it. He said the CDA should also be under the control of chairman local bodies.
Malik Ibrar of the PML-N said that longstanding issues of the people would be addressed with the introduction of the local government system.
Agencies add: Minister of State for Capital Administration and Development Division Usman Ibrahim informed the National Assembly that facility of cardiac surgery was not available in the Federal Government Polyclinic (FGPC) Hospital.
During the Question-Hour in the House, the minister said only the facility of non invasive cardiology was available at the hospital, adding that patients of the cardiac surgery had been refereed to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) for treatment.
Minister of State for Education Baleeghur Rehman said the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had awarded a total 260 scholarships to students of Balochistan.
He said the scholarships had been awarded from 1-1-2014 to 30-6-2015 under different scholarship schemes. He said the HEC was implementing three programmes for hiring services of highly qualified persons from within the country and abroad.
Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan told the House that the government had allocated Rs20 billion subsidy for fertilisers and pesticides in the federal budget.
Responding to a call attention notice raised by Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan and others regarding an increase in the prices of fertilisers, pesticides, etc, and non-payment of reasonable prices to farmers, the minister said that farmers were facing numerous problems.
He said the government was well aware of the problems being faced by the farmers community and efforts were being made to resolve these problems at the earliest.Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Sheikh Aftab Ahmed informed the House that construction work of the New Islamabad Airport would be completed by next year.
Sheikh Aftab said that so far more than 82 percent construction work of the airport had been completed.Regarding the water problem of the new airport, the minister said the government was planning to construct small dams to resolve the issue, adding that there was no issue of landing of aircraft.The National Assembly also offered Fateha for the departed soul of mother of Minister for Petroleum and Natural Resources Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.