MUZAFFARABAD: Syed Sikandar Nisar Gillani, the mayor-elect of the Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) capital, and his fellow councillors on Thursday threatened that they would launch a protest movement against “attempts to curtail the powers of the local government (LG) institutions”.

“In the first stage, the elected councillors will stage a symbolic demonstration outside the Legislative Assembly on Monday to record their protest against the [alleged] clandestine moves to reduce the powers of the LG institutions and their heads,” he announced at a press conference.

Mr Gillani, who belongs to the PML-N, and Khalid Awan of PPP were elected respectively as mayor and deputy mayor of Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad on March 2, defeating the ruling PTI candidates.

At the presser, Mr Gillani was flanked by most of the PML-N and PPP councillors in addition to independent councillors Fazal Mahmood Baig and Malik Moeed.

He maintained that the LG polls were held in the state after more than three decades and if the authority of their elected heads was to be reduced, there was no point in spending over Rs one billion on the exercise.

“We will not compromise on our authority,” he said, adding, the “councillors will take their case to the people’s court  to fight for the rights of people together with the support of all segments of society.”

In response to a question, the mayor-elect said they did not want to entangle themselves with the administration or institutions and would stage peaceful protest demonstrations to make their viewpoint loud and clear. He expressed the hope that opposition lawmakers would also vigorously support them in this just cause.

In response to another question, Mr Gillani claimed that they were in constant contact with the elected councillors across the state and consultations had also been held with them to launch a state-wide protest movement after March 13.

“”Let’s hope the government acts sensibly and shelves the proposed controversial decisions before that.”

Mr Gillani maintained that people had not returned the councillors to occupy powerless offices.

“In fact, we are determined to gain more powers for these nurseries of democracy on the pattern of the developed nations,” he vowed.

Reminding AJK premier Sardar Tanveer Ilyas of his oft-repeated assertions that PTI government would strengthen LG institutions by devolving powers to the grassroots level, the mayor-elect urged him to take notice of the simmering issue without further ado.

“Some people want to discredit the prime minister and he must frustrate their designs to rob the LG institutions of their powers.”

On Tuesday, PML-N regional office bearers and former ministers Barrister Iftikhar Gillani, Ms Norren Arif and Dr Mustafa Bashir had also addressed a press conference on the issue, where they too had warned the PTI government against a “strong agitation movement” to thwart “curtailment of the powers of LG institutions.”

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2023