KASUR, Jan 28 About 110 union council (UC) nazims protested on Monday on the lawns of the district council hall against the Kasur district coordination officer (DCO). They alleged the DCO was creating hurdles in the approval of budget that has not been approved for the last two years due to difference between former district nazim Rana Muhammad Hayat and district naib nazim Maqsood Sabir Ansari.

Mr Hayat, now a Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidate for NA-142, was disqualified in Oct 2007 from holding the office of district nazim for failing to pay taxes worth Rs16 million. While Mr Ansari of the PML-Q was declared disqualified from holding the office district naib nazim in Sept 2007 and also from the peasant seat against which he had contested the election.

UC nazims raised slogans against DCO Saeed Akhtar Ansari and demanded his immediate transfer or they would ransack his office and stage a sit-in outside Chief Minister's House in Lahore and the Lahore High Court. The DCO is brother-in-law of the disqualified naib nazim.

The protest was led by Muhammad Ali and Javed Ahmed Batto. Mr Batto put up a resolution that was passed by all nazims. The resolution stated the budget of the district should be revised and all development projects referred to former parliamentarians should be cancelled.

The resolution read that a 10-member body would be established to check embezzlement in the ongoing projects of the district government. The body would also move the Anti-Corruption Establishment and the National Accountability Bureau to probe into embezzlements of funds by the DCO. The resolution said that in the future the house would never let anyone use the district council hall for any purpose other then the session of the house. UC nazims alleged the DCO had allowed functions and seminars in the hall to please the people from a government-backed party. It is interesting to note that the DCO did not let the UC nazims use the hall on Monday.

Talking to Dawn, Mr Batto said they would proceed as per law and in the past their efforts to get the budget approved were failed owing to the intervention of the district administration.

UC nazims Naseer Khan, Rafiq Sajid, Altaf Khan and Aslam Bhular, however, applauded the Musharraf's devolution system and said the district government was responsible for sabotaging the budge approval. They said even though the Lahore High Court has disqualified the district naib nazim, but he was still using official vehicles and office.

UC nazims from the PML-Q blamed the disqualified district nazim for playing with the sentiments of the house.

PML-N backed UC Nazim Ayaz Khan, however, rejected allegations against Mr Hayat and said that he was sincere with the house but could do nothing for the welfare of people because of non-cooperation from the district administration.

Sharif Bhatti proposed if the district administration did not fulfil their demand regarding the budget, the DCO must be thrashed.