Denial of funds: LG reps threaten to launch agitation in KP

MANSEHRA: The local government representatives on Sunday said they would launch a street agitation against the denial of funds and authoritative rights from next week.

“Two years have passed since the installations of local governments in the province but we are still without development funds and authoritative rights enshrined by LG Act 2013,” Basharat Ali Swati, the general secretary of the Chairmen Ittehad, told reporters here.

Flanked by other office-bearers, he said the decision to launch the protest was taken at the meeting of the chairmen of village and neighbourhood councils with its president Malik Mumtaz in the chair.

“Over 4200 chairmen and councillors from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been deprived of development funds, office rents, overhead charges and monthly honourarium by the provincial government,” Swati went on to add.

He said that their leadership in the province had also taken those issues with successive governments and the secretary Local Governments Department repeatedly but to no avail.

“We have planned to stage sit-ins outside the Supreme Court of Pakistan and Election Commission of Pakistan as the local government elections were held by the order of former in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa some two years ago,” Basharat Ali Swati said.He said that LG representatives from Hazara and the rest of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would also take part in the sit-in being staged outside the SC and ECP in Islamabad next week.