MANSEHRA: The provincial local council, which represents tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils’ chairmen from across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on Sunday demanded of the government to extend the tenure of the grassroots governance system by three years.

“Over the past three years, we have been deprived of the funds and powers guaranteed under the Local Government Act, 2013. The provincial government should not only release our outstanding funds of Rs120 billion but also extend the existing term by three years,” Intizar Khalil, the council’s coordinator, told a meeting here.

The meeting was attended by the council’s secretary Farhad Khan, Mansehra tehsil chairman Sheikh Mohammad Shafi, president of Local Council Ittehad Malik Mumtaz, general secretary Basharat Ali Swati and chairmen of different village and neighbourhood councils.

They set December 31 deadline for the government to meet their demands or they would stage a sit-in outside the provincial assembly on January 1. “This three-year term, which is nearing its end, has been a challenging period for tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils as government not only withheld development funds but also denied us the right to serve the people in our respective jurisdictions,” Mr Khalil insisted, adding, “Our sit-in is scheduled to begin on January 1 in Peshawar. We will not yield to any government pressure until all our demands are met.”

Speaking on the occasion, Mansehra tehsil chairman Mohammad Shafi said residents of Mansehra city and its surrounding areas were struggling with issues like the lack of potable water and the shortage of burial space in existing graveyards, but the provincial government had failed to release the funds needed to address these and other civic problems.

“We will start the New Year with a sit-in outside the provincial assembly and will not end it until our demands are met,” he said.

STRIKE ANNOUNCED: Shinkiari residents, including local government representatives and traders, on Sunday announced a shutter down strike and a blockade of the Karakoram Highway in protest against the prolonged and unscheduled power outages.

“We will observe a complete shutter down strike and block the KKH on Tuesday in protest against the daylong power outages,” Sardar Shah Khan, Baffa-Pakhal tehsil chairman, told a meeting attended by people from various walks of life.

“We are exhausted with enduring ongoing daylong power outages. We have raised this issue with the high-ups at the Peshawar Electric Supply Company, but they have failed to take any action,” Shabbir Khan Swati, Shinkiari neighbourhood council chairman, told the meeting.

Arsalan Khan, president of the central traders’ body in Shinkiari, highlighted the impact of power outages on businesses.

Published in Dawn, December 30th, 2024