PESHAWAR: Chairmen of tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Monday staged a protest demonstration outside the provincial assembly building, demanding an extension in the tenure of local governments, immediate release of development funds, and empowerment of the local government system.
The protesters gave the provincial government an ultimatum until January 9 to accept their demands, warning that they would take to the streets again on January 14 if no action was taken.
The protest was organised under the banner of the Local Council Association (LCA), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and was led by its president Himayatullah Mayar.
Local government representatives blocked Khyber Road, one of the provincial capital’s main arteries, for nearly three hours, causing severe traffic congestion. Demonstrators carried banners and placards and chanted slogans against the provincial government in support of their demands.
Addressing the protesters, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Iftikhar said that both federal and provincial governments were unwilling to see empowered local government institutions.
ANP’s provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain, general secretary Hussain Shah Yousafzai, and senior Jamaat-e-Islami leader Inayatullah Khan also addressed the gathering.
Speaking on the occasion, LCA president Himayatullah Mayar said that the four-year term of the two-tier local government system was set to expire in March, yet the provincial government had “not released even a single rupee” for development activities at the grassroots level.
He alleged that during the past four years, the PTI-led provincial government had repeatedly curtailed the powers of local bodies through amendments to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013, effectively rendering the institutions dysfunctional.
Mayar said this was their eighth protest for their rights, adding that after every protest the provincial government held meetings with them and promised restoration of funds and powers, but no tangible results had been achieved so far.
He also demanded an extension in the tenure of local government representatives and reiterated that if the demands were not accepted by January 9, a fresh protest would be held on January 14. He urged chairmen of tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils to immediately convene council meetings and devise a strategy for the next phase of protest.
Mayar further called on local representatives to invite the public to council meetings to inform them how the provincial government had deprived them of development funds and constitutional powers.
Addressing the protesters, ANP provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain said it was deeply regrettable that political governments were reluctant to strengthen local government institutions, despite the fact that a strong local government system was essential for democratic stability and effective public service delivery.
He said the practice of allocating development funds directly to members of assemblies was introduced during General Zia-ul-Haq’s military regime to weaken political parties and keep local governments subordinate—a practice that, he added, still continues.
Mian Iftikhar Hussain maintained that unless local governments were made strong and autonomous, provincial and federal governments would also be unable to function effectively. Citing developed countries, he said strong local governments there played a central role in governance and development.
He added that during authoritarian regimes, political parties were marginalized while local governments were selectively strengthened, creating an artificial conflict between political parties and local representatives. He stressed that there was no natural contradiction between political parties and local governments, describing this divide as a remnant of non-democratic eras.
