PESHAWAR: Mayor of Peshawar Zubair Ali said on Sunday that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was avoiding holding local government elections in the province.
“The Khyber Pukhtunkhwa government paralysed local government institutions over the last four years by undermining the constitutional and legal framework of the system. Now it is trying to avoid elections as it cannot face the public.
However, elections will have to be conducted in accordance with court decisions and constitutional requirements,” he said as elected representatives marked the last day of their four-year tenure on Sunday.
Explaining his stance, he said the government failed to release even a single rupee in development funds to elected local representatives.
“This not only deprived local governments of their authority but also directly harmed the people of the province,” he said.
The mayor accused the government of repeatedly amending the law under which local body elections were originally held, claiming the changes stripped elected representatives, including mayors, chairmen, councillors and youth councillors, of their powers and resources.
According to him, these measures weakened the entire local governance structure and stalled development across the province.
Zubair Ali, who is affiliated with the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (F), said the ruling PTI had once promised to introduce what it called the world’s best local government system before coming to power, but failed to fulfil that pledge after assuming office.
The mayor said the KP government forced elected local representatives to protest on the streets for their rights during the past four years.
He said the people of the province, including youth, elders and women, were determined to participate in the upcoming local government elections and hold those responsible accountable for what he described as injustice against the local government system.
Zubair Ali urged the public to identify what he termed “anti-development forces” and play a role in restoring progress and prosperity in the province.
He expressed confidence that voters across the province would defeat those whom he accused of damaging the local government system in the next grassroots-level elections.
