Public reps reject Local Government Act 2019: Legislation termed violation of Constitution imposed by Bani Gala

PESHAWAR: The leaders of various political parties have rejected the Local Government Act 2019 and termed it a conspiracy against the integrity of Pakistan.

The rejection came as the Local Councils Association (LCA) organized the “annual consultative meeting on the current scenario of local government” here on Tuesday to garner support against what its president called an unconstitutional act.

Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) leaders Inayatullah Khan and Sahibzada Tariqullah, Awami National Party (ANP)’s Khushdil Khan, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazal (JUI-F)’s MPA Shahdad Khan, Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)’s lawmaker Nighat Orakzai, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)’s Israrullah and Qaumi Watan Party (QWP)’s Sikandar Sherpao attended the event.

LCA President Himayatullah Mayar accused the KP government of rendering the devolution meaningless with the Local Government Act 2019.

He said Pakistan had a bad history of the local governments, claiming that every elected government conspired against devolution of powers at the grassroots.

“The PTI has reversed whatever powers had been devolved. Now districts will not have a representative forum,” he said, adding the colonial-era powers of the deputy commissioners have been restored.

He said the steps for centralization of powers are a violation of the Article 140-A and Article 37-I of the Constitution. “Only those departments were devolved that do not have any infrastructure at the tehsil level,” he argued.

Accusing the government of creating hurdles for the masses, he alleged that lawmakers were kept in the dark about the amendments to the Local Government Act. “Even the PTI lawmakers did not know about the changes in the act. They did not get any draft before it was presented in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly,” he maintained.

Chitral District Nazim Maghfirat Shah, who belongs to the JI, said the PTI had committed the last blunder. He said that if Prime Minister Imran Khan is not giving respect to elected people, he will not get respect.

“Every policy is being implemented at the district level. Eliminating the district tier would pave the way for corruption and an escape from public oversight,” he claimed.

Maghfirat Shah said that an elected government wanted to run the government through bureaucrats, who could not deliver but wanted more powers.

“The country’s existence is being put at stake when the people are left out of the governance process. The act is a conspiracy against Pakistan,” he alleged.

The Chitral district nazim said the government had not only violated the Constitution and the law of the land but also disrespected local values. He said it had become an issue of the honour of the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Another leader of his party, Inayatullah, who had been minister for Local Government in the previous PTI-led government, said the lawmakers demanded that the bill be sent to the select committee but the government was in a hurry. “The JI has decided to take the issue to the court,” he disclosed.

The JI leader said the PTI “bulldozed” the very system it had celebrated for five years. He claimed that some PTI lawmakers had told them that they were happy if the opposition goes to the court as they were searching for an escape from the election.

Inayatullah claimed that opposition leader Akram Khan Durrani hailing from JUI-F had told the PTI’s senior minister Atif Khan that all opposition parties were ready to waive the discretionary funds for lawmakers as it would enable them to fight against the undemocratic forces and work for the strengthening of democracy.

Another JI leader Sahibzada Tariqullah alleged that the conspiracy against the LG system was well thought-out. He believed that after this act Prime Minister Imran Khan had weakened his position.

PPP MPA Nighat Orakzai said the opposition held the longest protest in the country’s history at the KP Assembly the other day. However, she deplored that the media sided with the government and did not cover the protest. She said the PPP would join the elected councillors in their street protests and legal action.

ANP’s Khushdil Khan said amendments to the laws proved that legislation was not being done in the public interest but the purpose was to fulfill the desires of powerful elite. “We sought the opinion of a PTI lawmaker about the act who responded that they were not happy with it but it had been imposed from Bani Gala,” he claimed.

He said the act was a violation of Article 184 of the Constitution as the people of the province had been deprived of their rights.

QWP’s vice-chairman Sikandar Sherpao termed the act violation of the 18th Amendment as the provincial assembly’s authority had been challenged by the prime minister. “It is against the provincial autonomy as it has been drafted in Islamabad and imposed on the people of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he argued.