PHC restores original K-P local govt law

Strikes down amendments curbing councils' powers

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has accepted multiple petitions filed by local government representatives from Mardan, declaring various amendments made over the years to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2013 unconstitutional. The court ordered the restoration of the Act in its original form and struck down provisions that had curtailed the administrative and financial powers of elected local councils.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed issued the detailed 18-page verdict, authored by Justice Farah Jamshed. The petitions, filed through Advocate Babar Khan Yousafzai, challenged sections of the K-P Local Government Act 2013, its 2015 version, and subsequent amendments introduced in 2019 and 2022.

The petitioners, who are chairmen and mayors of various tehsil and city councils in Mardan, argued that successive governments had gradually stripped local bodies of their authority. They pointed out that amendments to Section 2(r) had transferred crucial municipal services such as land use control, zoning, master planning, and housing from local councils to the provincial government. The petitioners maintained that this not only undermined their mandate but also violated Articles 32 and 140A of the Constitution, which guarantee political, administrative, and financial autonomy to local governments.

On behalf of the provincial government, the Additional Advocate General argued that the legislature was within its constitutional right to regulate the functions and powers of local bodies, stressing that rules had already been framed to operationalize the responsibilities of mayors and chairmen.

After hearing arguments, the bench ruled that while legislation is the prerogative of the provincial assembly, constitutional principles require devolution of powers to elected representatives rather than centralization under provincial control. The judgment underlined that the essence of Article 140A is to ensure people's participation in governance and problem-solving at the grassroots level.

Declaring the amendments contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, the court struck down Sections 23A and 25A of the amended law, as well as Rules 5 and 6 of the 2022 Rules of Business. It directed the government to restore powers and responsibilities to elected local government representatives and ensure that the K-P Local Government Act 2013 remains in force in its original shape.

Separately, PHC issued notices to the federal government, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the Social Media Regulatory Authority on a petition challenging obscene and indecent content on the social media platform TikTok.