Impressive turnout at Islamabad mayor’s Iftar-dinner

Islamabad

An Iftar-dinner, hosted by the first mayor of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC) Sheikh Ansar Aziz, was largely attended and almost everyone invited by him showed up.

Three deputy mayors including Zeeshan Naqvi, Riffat Javed and Azam Khan accompanied the host. Although a number of people have left for Saudi Arabia to spend the last ten days of Ramadan in the holy places, the turnout was impressive.

The smiling mayor made it a point to personally look after each and every guest. He visited every table to exchange pleasantries.

It was a mixed gathering, ranging from diplomats to political and social notables besides serving and retired bureaucrats. A number of chairmen of the union councils of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) were also in attendance.

The feast was arranged a few days after the mayor’s powers were notified by the federal government and the bifurcation of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was effected by transferring some 23 departments to the IMC. Over six months ago, local elections were held in the ICT for the first time since the federal capital was established here.

Sheikh Ansar Aziz is poised to focus his attention on development works in the capital in a way that makes his and the local government’s presence felt. For being close to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, he doesn’t face any problem of availability of any amount of funds from the government.

He has been told by the premier that he would be provided money as per the requirements but the IMC has to deliver up to people’s expectations.

However, a guest pointed out that the mayor has faced and will continue to confront challenges from the mighty bureaucracy that doesn’t want the IMC to be a success. It was stated that officialdom cherishes to retain all the powers and is averse to shifting them to the local government.

Several teething problems will hit the IMC because it is the first such body in the ICT in the presence of the CDA, which has been running the city for over five decades. Confusion and overlapping will prevail till the time the IMC and CDA will settle down to their respective domains, as defined by the law.

Some days back, the government handed over functions and assets of 23 CDA directorates to the IMC under the Islamabad Local Government Act, 2015 amid strong reservations from the employees who want protection of their rights and privileges. The functions of 26 other directorates would be partially divided between the CDA and IMC.

The mayor faces problems from the labour as well. As the government transferred these departments to the IMC, the CDA Mazdoor Union filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court for suspension of the order. It wants protection of rights and privileges of employees who are being transferred to the IMC.

According to the petition, the CDA Ordinance says that no employee could be sent to any other department without his consent. “We want protection of rights and privileges and benefits of employees which they are enjoying presently,” union leader Chaudhry Yaseen said.