Mayor contemplating action against officials not obeying him

Rawalpindi : The Mayor of the garrison city feels powerless and is contemplating strict action against officers who are not obeying his orders.

Mayor Rawalpindi Sardar Naseem Khan told ‘The News’ that the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) in its judgment has written that the orders of the sitting mayor should be obeyed in the letter in spirit. “The mayor can register FIR against those officers they will not obey the orders of the sitting mayor, Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) has clearly written its judgment,” the mayor recalling the Supreme Court order of March 25, 2021, in which the apex court ordered the restoration of local government institutions in the province after declaring their dissolution as unconstitutional

He said that he is unhappy with the Punjab government’s attitude. “Punjab government should obey the orders of SC properly,” he said. As a mayor, I am helpless in the execution of different works,” he added.

He demanded the resumption of development work in the city by restoring funds of the Rawalpindi Metropolitan Municipal Corporation (RMMC). Khan said that if funds were not provided to the corporation, they would take a legal course.

The Rawalpindi mayor said that a meeting of the municipal corporation would be called soon in which a resolution against inflation, devaluation of the rupee, and petrol hike would be passed. He said we want to work without any political differences because citizens of Rawalpindi were already deprived of different facilities.

He said that the Supreme Court has handed down a democratic verdict by restoring local bodies. “We have no fight with the bureaucracy and will carry out our duty in accordance with the constitution, law, and democratic tradition.”

Reliable sources told ‘The News’ that the Punjab government was trying to take back vehicles from mayors and deputy mayors in the province which had been given to them a month ago. The PTI MPAs and MNAs have fully gripped all departments of the city including Municipal Corporation Rawalpindi (MCR). All transfers and postings of government officers were continued on the basis of favouritism, the sources said.

No doubt, the Punjab government apparently has accepted the orders of SCP and issued a written notification to restore the local bodies system. In fact, mayors are still ‘dummy’ and all powers were still with PTI MNAs and MPAs. They are using their powers through government officers who had been deployed by PTI MNAs and MPAs, the sources added.