Forged signatures: Mardan nazim, naib nazim suspended for 30 days

They needed 57 votes to pass the budget and ended up showing 60

PESHAWAR: The Awami National Party has decided to go to a court after the Mardan district nazim and deputy nazim were suspended for 30 days on allegations of forging signatures during a budget session in December 2015.

A notification issued on May 6 by the local government commission of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa stated that under Section 55 of the Local Government Act, 2013, Mardan district nazim Himayatullah Mayar and deputy nazim Asad Ali were suspended for 30 days for not passing the budget through a simple majority.

While speaking to The Express Tribune, Mayar said, “The chief minister does not have the powers to remove us. I suspect foul play by the ruling party.”

He claimed they had proof of presence of those members who were there on the day when the budget was passed by the district assembly.

Meanwhile, a senior LG department official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the nazim and naib nazim of Mardan district council passed the budget on December 10, 2015.

However, the opposition complained the district council passed the budget through forged signatures. He stated, “They needed 57 votes to pass the budget but showed 60 of them.”

He further stated that the two members were suspended for a month and now the LG commission, along with an impartial nazim, will hold an enquiry into the matter.

While responding to the allegations, ANP provincial general secretary
Sardar Hussain Babak endorsed Himayatullah Mayar’s view and said party leaders will fight a legal battle in court.

He said the decision to suspend the nazim and naib nazim was nothing more than a show of power by the PTI-led government.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2016.