PML-N rejoices mayor’s reinstatement

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) workers in Rawalpindi were overjoyed on the Supreme Court decision to restore the local bodies in Punjab and celebrated the return of Mayor Sardar Naseem Khan to his seat.

Floral garlands and sweets kept pouring in at Naseem’s office while many chairmen and vice-chairmen of the union councils also came in to celebrate the reversal of PTI government’s decision to wind up local bodies before the end of the tenure.

Around 58,000 local bodies’ representatives in Punjab were sent packing in 2019 after the governor signed the Punjab Local Government Bill 2019.

The PTI government had abolished the local bodies system through a notification and gave powers to commissioners and deputy commissioners to run the municipal and metropolitan corporations.

Addressing the ceremony held to felicitate the reinstatement of elected local bodies, PML-N MNA Tahir Aurangzeb said that PML-N appreciated the decision of the SC. “The incumbent government ambushed the democracy by abolishing local bodies with a notification, without taking the parliament and the elected representatives of the people in to confidence,” he said.

The lawmaker said the government was upset as the PML-N had won all local bodies of the province including in Rawalpindi from where Naseem was elected mayor unopposed. Mayor Naseem said that he was grateful to Almighty Allah and SC's decision.

“I was a soldier of Nawaz Sharif even before I became the mayor and will still be his soldier even after the restoration of local bodies,” Naseem said.

The mayor added that the PTI government had abolished the local bodies overnight and crushed the public mandate.

All elected members of local bodies’ challenged the PTI government’s orders in the courts and justice prevailed. “Today, by the grace of Almighty Allah, justice has prevailed and the tyrannical government of Imran Khan stands red faced,” the mayor told a cheering crowd.

He also said that all elected representatives would once again try to fulfil the demands of the people with regard to the municipal services.

Naseem added that the public development projects were damaged by the inactivation of local bodies, however, efforts would be made to resume the journey at the same pace. MPA Zaibun Nisa Awan, Haji Omar Farooq, and others also addressed the function.

PML-N had swept the last local government polls were held in December 2016. However, with the change in federal and provincial governments in 2018, PML-N-backed local government representatives suffered problems in release of funds. Finally the whole system was wrapped up in one go.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2021.