LG polls: System to be introduced in FATA first, says minister

Says dates of local body polls have yet to be decided, but reiterated that polls will take place in Fata first.

ISLAMABAD:

The government will hold local government elections in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and introduce an improved system of democracy prior to initiating the local bodies system in other parts of the country, according to Minister for State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt Gen (r) Qadir Baloch.

The minister was speaking at the launch of a report, Local government in Fata: Past failures, current challenges and future prospects’, organised by Fata Research Center (FCR).

Baloch said the dates of local body polls have yet to be decided, but reiterated that the polls would take place in Fata first. “Members of the National and provincial assemblies are one of the main hurdles in the holding of such elections because they are not willing to hand over their powers,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2014.