ISLAMABAD: In a significant move, the federal government on Sunday suspended Islamabad’s first elected mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz, who belongs to the main opposition Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, for a period of 90 days, prompting an immediate reaction from the PML-N which termed the move “a coup d’état” and vowed to challenge it in court.

The action taken by the federal government on the recommendations of the Local Government Commission, dominated by members of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), is set to aggravate the already tense political atmosphere in the country amid allegations of political victimisation by the opposition parties.

The government and the opposition have recently intensified their war of words over certain actions taken by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) against the opposition leaders, including PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif.

The Local Government Commission in its last meeting held on May 14 had recommended to the government to suspend the mayor so that an inquiry relating to an alleged corruption reference could be initiated against him.

The federal cabinet headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan, through circulation, got approval of the decision to suspend the mayor and subsequently the Ministry of Interior issued a notification on a public holiday.

PML-N terms the decision taken on recommendations of Local Government Commission ‘a coup d’état’

The commission is headed by PTI’s MNA from Islamabad Ali Nawaz Awan, who is also a special assistant to the prime minister on the affairs of the capital’s civic agency known as the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The commission’s two members from opposition parties — Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed of the PML-N and Raja Pervez Ashraf of the PPP — were not present at the meeting at which the commission took up the matter out of agenda and decided to recommend to the government to suspend the mayor in connection with the intercity bus terminals’ (five bus stations in various parts of the city) contract worth Rs42 million, which the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) had awarded last year.

The commission decided to hold a proper inquiry into the matter besides recommending to the government to suspend the mayor for 90 days.

Mr Aziz had been elected as the mayor and head of the MCI in April 2016, following the first-ever local government elections in Islamabad held in November 2015. The MCI was formed after devolving major departments of the CDA.

“There is nothing in this case; we have already received three instalments from the contractor and only one instalment is pending which is due next month,” claimed Mr Aziz while talking to Dawn after his suspension.

Asked why the MCI received post-dated cheques instead of advance payments, he said the rules allowed him to accept this arrangement to avoid litigation.

He said previously the said contract was awarded against only Rs10m, saying “my fault is this; we awarded the contract against Rs420m.”

The suspended mayor said the Local Government Commission was supposed to resolve the MCI’s issues with other organisations like the CDA, but in almost all its meetings it pursed the one-point agenda to “malign me”, he said and added that a few months ago a similar so-called corruption reference had been taken up by the said commission, but he got a stay order from the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

He termed it a politically-motivated action of the federal government, declaring that he would challenge the move in the IHC.

He also questioned the performance of the commission, claiming that all the issues for which it had been formed were still pending.

When contacted, chief of the commission Ali Nawaz Awan said the mayor was suspended in accordance with the Local Government Act, 2015. He said Mr Aziz was suspended to ensure a fair trial against him.

“The Local Government Act was finalised by the PML-N government, which clearly says the mayor could be suspended for 90 days when a probe is constituted against him,” he said. How could the suspended mayor raise questions about the performance of the commission, when his own performance over the last four year was “zero”.

“As far as resolving the issue of the MCI is concerned, I have been pleading their cases of rules of business and rules of establishment and other issues; I have also been playing my role for resolving their other issues such as landfill site and sanitation,” he said.

On the other hand, PML-N Senator Mushahid Sayed termed the mayor’s suspension illegal. “This is illegal. It is a coup d’état against the first elected mayor of Islamabad. It’s a sad day for people of Islamabad. The PTI government did not respect the mandate of the PML-N in the federal capital. If someone topples Imran Khan’s government with a coup d’état, how will they feel,” wondered the senator.

Mr Sayed said he and the other opposition member of the commission, Raja Pervez Ashraf, were not present at the said meeting due to the Senate session and the reference against the mayor was not part of the agenda of the meeting.

“The commission secretly changed the agenda and decided to recommend to the federal government to suspend the mayor. In fact, we in very clear words had asked the commission not to take any policy decision without the input of the opposition members, but they violated all norms and understanding,” he said.

The PML-N leader said the purpose of the commission was to help resolve issues regarding the jurisdiction of the MCI, but it had assumed the functions of NAB and the Federal Investigation Agency.

“The purpose behind the mayor’s suspension is actually to snatch power by hook or by crook. They have done that on a Sunday.”

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2020