Notices issued to KP govt, LG dept over non-release of development funds

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday issued notices to the provincial government and the Local Government Department in a petition filed against the non-disbursement of development funds to over 75 tehsil councils in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The two-member bench of Justice Sahibzada Asadullah and Justice Wiqar Ahmad heard the case while Advocate Babar Khan Yousafzai represented the petitioners Himayatullah Mayar and Safiullah.

The lawyer told the court that in the initial phase of local government elections, candidates opposing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) were declared successful. Following this, he said the provincial government enacted legislation transferring their funds to the district administration, even though, by law, these funds should have been allocated at the tehsil level.

However, after PTI-supported candidates succeeded in the second phase of local government elections, the LG Act was amended again and directed that funds be issued at the tehsil level.

The lawyer pleaded that the funds were released to 56 tehsil chairmen affiliated with PTI on December 5, 2024, but 75 tehsils where chairmen were from opposition parties kept deprived of development funds.

He argued that this discriminatory action violated various constitutional provisions and was unfair to the residents of these constituencies, who were supposed to benefit from public welfare projects funded by these allocations.

The lawyer maintained that such discriminatory practices were illegal and unconstitutional. The Supreme Court and various high courts, he contended, had issued rulings mandating equal distribution of these funds, and the provincial government had established rules for this purpose.

He also informed the court that the provincial government had recently withdrawn the released funds.

After the arguments, the bench issued notices to the provincial government and the LG Department and asked them to submit their responses.