PESHAWAR: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Tuesday demanded holding of local government elections in the province under the 2013 Local Government Act at the earliest as the local bodies have already completed their term and people were lacking basic facilities at the grassroots level.
The demand was made at the joint meeting of the party’s provincial leadership here on Tuesday. The meeting was presided over by Central Deputy Chief and KP (South) head, Prof Mohammad Ibrahim Khan and attended by KP (Centre) president, Abdul Wasi, KP (North) chief, Inayatullah Khan and Hazara region’s president, Abdul Razzaq Abbasi.
The participants stressed that the non-functionality of local government institutions has left people across the province without essential services. They termed the existing local government system as the most unsuccessful in history and underscored the urgent need to conduct fresh elections while ensuring the restoration of a district-level governance system.
The meeting also expressed deep concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the province, particularly in the southern districts, and urged both federal and provincial governments to take serious and practical steps to restore peace.
The participants also voiced concern over the recent tensions between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. They called on the Afghan government to address Pakistan’s concerns and immediately halt cross-border infiltration. The meeting urged the leadership of both countries to resolve tensions through meaningful dialogue, noting that the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan share centuries-old ties and that a peaceful Afghanistan is in the best interest of both nations as well as the Afghan people.
