LAHORE: Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Emir Hafiz Naeemur Rehman Wednesday said provincial governments were reluctant to devolve powers to the grassroots level, warning that the current local government framework in Punjab reflects a departure from democratic norms.
Speaking to journalists outside the Lahore High Court after a hearing on the party’s petition challenging the Punjab local government law, he said the legislation had been formally contested for being inconsistent with the Constitution.
He said the provincial government was avoiding local body elections and attempting to introduce a system of non-party based councillors, which he argued would deprive citizens of meaningful representation at the union council level. He added that the proposed setup restricts people’s right to freely elect their representatives at the grassroots level and undermines the spirit of democracy.
Rehman said authority was being centralised instead of strengthened at the local level, adding that an impression of authoritarianism was emerging in Punjab due to the lack of devolution of powers.
Criticising mainstream political parties, particularly the Pakistan Muslim League (N), he said they were not serious about holding local government elections, resulting in unresolved public issues at the community level. He further said such parties were run on familial lines and did not allow space for new leadership to emerge.
He said court proceedings had shown positive progress, noting that the bench had indicated the case should not face unnecessary delay, which raised hopes for an early hearing. Rehman demanded a new local government law to ensure genuine public representation and effective devolution of powers, saying a transparent and empowered system was essential for strengthening democracy.
He also expressed concern over the ongoing electricity crisis, saying prolonged load-shedding had made life difficult for citizens despite an installed generation capacity of around 49,000 megawatts. He urged the government to take immediate and effective steps to address issues in the energy sector and provide relief to the public.
