Latest news with #HimayatullahMayar
Express Tribune
6 days ago
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ties local government polls to Punjab
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government has decided to hold fresh local government (LG) elections instead of extending the tenure of the current bodies. However, K-P's position is that the new polls will be linked to similar elections in other provinces. On the other hand, the Local Council Association (LCA), the representative body of LG members, has announced it will move the court if the elections are not held within the constitutional timeframe. Local body elections in K-P were conducted in two phases. The first phase took place on December 19, 2021, with the local governments formed on March 31, 2022. The second phase, covering the hilly districts, was held in June 2022. Under the existing schedule, LGs in the plains will complete their term on March 31, 2026, while those in the hilly districts will expire in June 2026. Local representatives argue that during their tenure they have neither been provided development funds nor given defined powers, and therefore their term should be extended. The provincial government, however, has no such plan. Provincial Law Minister Aftab Alam stated that no proposal to extend the tenure is under consideration, adding that K-P will hold LG elections if Punjab does so, as local bodies in Punjab are currently inactive. Meanwhile, LCA Chairman Himayatullah Mayar stressed that under the Constitution, the tenure of LGs starts from the day representatives take oath. "If elections are not held after the dissolution of LGs, we will approach the court," he warned. LCA Coordinator Intizar Khalil added that local representatives were neither given funds nor allowed to work according to the law. The association has demanded a tenure extension and is holding negotiations with the K-P chief minister in this regard.
Express Tribune
04-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
K-P local councils plan all-party confab
PESHAWAR: The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Local Councils Association has decided to hold an all parties conference in Peshawar on February 14 to develop consensus on problems faced by the local bodies due to lack of funds and administrative powers. The provincial leadership of all parties including Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf will be invited and the problems of local governments will be presented to them and full cooperation will be requested. An important meeting of the Local Councils Association was held in Peshawar on Tuesday chaired by its President Himayatullah Mayar. The meeting was attended by mayors and tehsil chairmen from across the province. The problems of LGs were discussed in detail at the meeting. Mayar, said that on the occasion of the Peshawar sit-in on January 1, the negotiation committee of the provincial government comprising of Local Government Minister Arshad Ayub Khan, Education Minister Faisal Tarkai, Revenue Minister Nazir Abbasi, Special Assistant Rangiz Khan, had promised to resolve the demands within 20 days and within a week a meeting with the chief minister K-P was to be arranged. He further said that even after a month, the problems have not been resolved, nor has a meeting been held with the Chief Minister. The provincial government is not showing seriousness in solving the problems of the LGs including provision of powers and funds, he maintained. He said that the provincial government is not fulfilling its promises as recently the Cabinet approved Rs5 lakh for each village and neighborhood councils in the merged districts and MPAs and MNAs have been included in the committees instead of LG representatives. Mayar announced the meeting's declaration and released the details of the decisions made. According to the unanimous decision of the Local Councils Association, letters will be sent to the government ministers involved in the negotiations during the Peshawar protest urging them to fulfill the promises within seven days, otherwise, on 11 February, meetings of 131 tehsils of K-P will be held and a full protest will be recorded.
Express Tribune
30-01-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
K-P mayors seek term extension, powers
PESHAWAR: Local government mayors and nazims of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa have filed a writ petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC), seeking an extension of their three-year term through legislation and demanding financial and administrative powers. The petition was filed by Babar Khan Yousafzai on behalf of Himayatullah Mayar, President of the Local Council Association, and 29 other nazims. The petition states that they were elected three years ago in local bodies' elections. However, during this period, they were deprived of funds and not granted administrative or financial powers, rendering the local government institution effectively paralyzed. In the writ petition, the provincial government, secretary local government and secretary law have been made party. It was stated that the petitioners are mayors and tehsil nazims of different cities of K-P and they were directly elected by the people as a result of LG elections. The provincial government had initially promised to grant them powers and funds under the Local Government Act. However, over time, these powers and funds were withdrawn in various ways, forcing them to spend most of their tenure in courts fighting for their rights. Due to a lack of funding, they were unable to meet public expectations or carry out development work. Since the provincial government did not release funds, their three-year term remained largely unproductive. While their tenure can be extended to six years by amending the law, this cannot be done directly and requires a formal legislative change. According to the writ, the government has repeatedly violated the provisions of the Local Government Act. They moved the courts and got some relief. During the local government elections, the provincial government promised a fair distribution of powers and funds. However, it failed to fulfill this commitment, leaving most tehsil nazims and city mayors without any government support. As a result, they have been managing affairs using their own resources. Therefore, their term should be extended through a constitutional amendment, and they should be granted the necessary powers to effectively serve the people. In the writ petition, it was also stated that the powers contained in the Act were not given and they were also suspended on the occasion of the February 2024 general elections. According to the writ, after elections in 2022, they were not sworn in by various means and a writ was filed in the Peshawar High Court after which they were sworn in.
