February 27, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 19, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Feb 26: Opposition parties’ sweep in the general election has put the life of district governments at risk as the new governments at the centre and in the provinces may decide to fold up the system.

After all the parties which won had demanded the suspension of the district government system during the election period to prevent “rigging” by the Nazims of the ruling PML-Q. The demand was ignored.

In Rawalpindi, the City District Government is already at a standstill — not so much because of any distant fear but because of a freeze ordered by the caretaker government in Punjab before the general election on launching new development schemes.

This ban should have been lifted by now that election has been held, according to a senior official of the City District Government.

“But the signs are that the decision has been left to the incoming government in the Punjab. We are taking care of only the ongoing schemes,” he said.

However the official did not expect the freeze to block the preparation of district government’s budget for 2008-09 which is to start in March. The Punjab government had approved a budget of Rs4.5 billion for the Rawalpindi district government for 2007-08. Stock of the money spent on development projects during the past eight months is to be taken next month, the official said.

The results of general election in Rawalpindi constituency have put at stake the political future of the District Nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas; Naib Nazim Mohammad Afzal Khokhar; and Rawal Town Nazim Shaikh Rashid Shafique for they belonged to the losing party.

The son of Raja Javed Akhlas contested from the platform of PML-Q from NA-51 and lost to Raja Pervaiz Ashraf of PPP. The uncle of Sheikh Rashid Shafiq lost to Javed Hashmi and Hanif Abbasi of PML-N while the nephew of Azfal Khokhar of PML-Q lost to Chaudhry Tariq Fazal of PML-N.

Mian Imran Hayat, Leader of the Opposition in the District Council, foresees new local bodies elections in the country during next three months if both the PPP and the PML-N implement ”in letter and spirit” the Charter of Democracy they had signed in London in 2006.

“For the time being, we have no plan to table any resolution against the district nazim,” he told Dawn.

Mian Hayat charged that opposition members of the district council were deprived of development funds.

“It is high time that the city district nazim realises the situation and improves working relations with opposition members by putting the remaining development at their disposal,” he said.