Long road to devolution: Abbottabad district nazim threatens protest over power play

Says K-P govt not abiding by Constitution, slashed development budget

ABBOTABAD: The district nazim of Abbottabad has threatened protests, along with other local government representatives, if the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf-led government “fails to abide by the Constitution and the local government act”.

District nazim Sardar Sher Bahadur Khan, a PTI dissident, told The Express Tribune the PTI-led government has not yet discussed powers of the local government system with elected representatives. This, according to Sardar Sher, said showed the K-P government was reluctant to fulfil constitutional obligations. He added under Article 140-A of the Constitution, the provincial government is bound to devolve political, administrative and financial responsibilities to the elected representatives of the local government.

Budget to the axe

To support his point of view, Sardar Sher said the provincial government was to disburse 30% or Rs43 billion of the total development budget to the local governments. The nazim said the provincial government made a huge cut—Rs12 billion—in the name of on-going schemes and disbursed only 21% to the districts.



He added the cut was made to appease MPAs and ministers who were disconnected from development funds after local governments were set up across K-P.

Sardar Sher faces a disqualification reference from his party, PTI, for standing against fellow party nominee Ali Khan Jadoon with Pakistan Muslim league-Nawaz’s support and winning the district nazim election. Sardar Sher believed, “A lobby of looters and plunderers have started misguiding Chief Minister Pervez Khattak to benefit their own vested interests,” Sardar Sher added, “Most of them are turncoats who joined PTI just before the general elections in 2013.”

For empowerment

The district nazim added he was waiting for the suitable time to announce a protest against the government; a protest which he boasts will have over 2,400 councillors from Abbottabad if local government representatives are not empowered as per the Constitution.

To a question he replied to The Express Tribune, the goal of devolving powers to the grass-root level could only be accomplished once the district governments were empowered. He suggested village, tehsil and district councils be allowed to implement small development schemes worth Rs1 to 2 million through project committees.

He also supported the payment of honorariums to members of tehsil and district councils and giving them permission to hire class-IV employees in their respective areas.

Sharing his vision for Abbottabad, Sardar Sher said he wanted progress sans political biases. He added he would contest next general elections with “his group” from Abbottabad.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 18^th, 2016.