PESHAWAR: Several heads of different categories of local governments have moved Peshawar High Court, seeking directives for the provincial government to extend their tenure by making amendments in the local government law.

A petition was jointly filed by 29 mayors and chairmen of different city local governments, tehsil local governments, neighbourhood and village councils including Mardan city government mayor Himayatullah Mayar and others, requesting the court to direct the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through its chief secretary and other respondents to extend tenure of the petitioners one time for a period of three years through amendment in Section 79 of KP Local Government Act, 2013.

They also requested the court to facilitate the petitioners by giving administrative and financial authority to them in accordance with the law.

The petition filed through Advocate Babar Khan Yousafzai includes KP chief secretary, its secretaries of local government and law and parliamentary affairs as respondents.

Petitioners claim they lack financial and administrative authority

The petitioners contended that under Section 30 of KP Local Government Act (KPLGA) money and grants had to be received from the government or other authorities in Pakistan by local governments but so far no such grants were being received and without receiving the same the 131 tehsil councils throughout the province were unable to present their annual budget.

They stated that under the law, the devolved offices needed to be handed over to elected mayors/chairmen but the same had not been handed over to elected representatives till date due to which all those offices were almost non-functional. They said that local government elections were held in the province in two phases on December 19, 2021, and March 31, 2022.

They stated that there were 131 tehsil councils throughout the province and petitioners like other mayors/chairmen were representing more than 50 million residents of the province.

The petitioners said that since the assumption of charge of their respective offices, all the mayors/chairmen and members of local councils had not been handed over their financial and administrative authorities to run the affairs of their offices.

They stated that soon after conduct of elections, drastic changes were made in the KPLGA through KP Local Government (Amendment) Act 2022, and the petitioners had challenged those amendments. They added that the high court had so far not delivered its judgement in that case.

Moreover, they pointed out that during the course of general election of Feb 2024, all the local councils throughout the province had been suspended and the suspension period needed to be condoned from the tenure of the present elected councils.

They stated that the functions of elected mayors/chairmen and members of village and neighbourhood councils had been amended and the same had been shifted to Rules of Business rather than the Act. However, they added that the said Rules of Business had not been farmed so far.

The petitioners contended that Article 140-A of the Constitution of Pakistan provided establishment of a local government system and devolving political, administrative and financial responsibilities and authority to the elected representatives.

The petitioners said that they lacked their political, administrative and financial responsibilities since assumption of charge which was a clear violation of articles 32 and 140-A of the Constitution.

Published in Dawn, January 31st, 2025