LAHORE: Mayors, chairmen and other elected local bodies representatives on Wednesday announced taking charge of their offices on their own on April 2 in the light of the March 25 Supreme Court verdict, if the government did not hand them over the charge of their respective offices.

They warned the government that it should better accept and implement the verdict, failing which they would have no option but to approach the relevant legal forum (supreme or high courts) for its implementation.

“On March 25, a three-member SC bench headed by the chief justice of Pakistan, while hearing a writ petition (48/2019) termed section 3 of the Local Bodies Act-2019 contradictory to the Constitution of Pakistan and finally restored the entire local governments, councils, municipal corporations/committees,” reads a memorandum submitted to Punjab chief secretary, through the local government department special secretary, by the elected local bodies’ representatives after a meeting here.

In the memorandum the representatives expressed concern over the Punjab government’s attitude which, according to them, was avoiding to hand them over the charge of their offices despite passing of six days, which was against the spirit of the SC decision.

Ask govt to implement SC verdict otherwise they will approach court again

They said all decisions taken by the government related to local government institutions after March 25, 2021, are unlawful.

“We demand that the Punjab government must implement the SC verdict by giving us charge of the offices. If it continues doing so, we will reach our respective offices on April 2 (tomorrow), take charge and start working on our own,” the memorandum signed by the mayors and district council chairmen of Lahore, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Sahiwal, Multan, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Rahim Yar Khan, Lodhran, Gujrat, Toba Tek Singh, Kasur and other cities warned.

Talking to Dawn, Lahore Metropolitan Corporation Mayor retired Col Mubashir Javaid said all the representatives, in a meeting, were unanimous that since the apex court restored the local government institutions on March 25, the government must honour it and facilitate them in getting charge of their respective offices.

“The court verdict is in our favour and the ball is in the government court now. We will go to our offices and start working from Friday. And if we are stopped, we will go to the supreme or high court for implementation of the verdict,” the mayor warned.

“We have been restored with effect from May 4, 2019, the day when the government promulgated the new act. The government must honour the verdict now,” he said.

He said in various districts, the elected mayors and chairmen had reoccupied their offices, but were not given the charge, barring them from performing their routine work like carrying out official correspondence and taking various decisions.

“It was mandatory [for the elected representatives] under the law to go and sit in our offices and submit arrival report to the quarters concerned. And it will help us when we will approach the court if the government doesn’t give us the charge as prescribed under the law, rules and regulations,” Mr Javaid explained.

The mayor termed the government incompetent, stating it ruined everything within a period of two and a half years. He regretted that the so-called South Punjab Secretariat, on which the government spent billions of rupees, was reportedly being winded up.

Gujranwala Mayor Sheikh Sarwat said since March 26 he and his deputy had been working in his office. He said the local government representatives in Mandi Bahauddin, Kasur, Hafizabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Sargodha, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi had also started working in their offices.

“We occupying our offices is a legal act. Had we done it in the absence of the court verdict, we would have been jailed by this government that doesn’t even want to see the PML-N,” he said.

“But, we will keep standing shoulder to shoulder with our Quaid Nawaz Sharif in his movement for upholding the rule of vote,” he pledged.

CANCELLED: The Lahore commissioner has cancelled holding of monthly open courts, according to a spokesman.

Moreover, a team on Wednesday impounded 21 buses for Covid standard operating procedures (SOPs) violations.

Published in Dawn, April 1st, 2021