ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf strongly believes in transferring power at the at grass-root level.
The prime minister was chairing a meeting of senior PTI leadership on the local government system, through which, he said, the people would be able to make their decisions by their own.
It was another step by the PTI towards fulfilment of its manifesto, said a press statement.
Khan observed that good governance was based on the authority enjoyed by the people over decision making. With a functional local government system, the people can get authority of decision making, he added. He further said that with the experience gained in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, the local government system would be made functional.
All powers would be delegated to the local government system to strengthen public say in their affairs, he added.
Sources aware of the deliberations of the meeting informed The Nation that a task force is already working on devising a local government (LG) system for Punjab that would be the improved version of the KP LG system.
The prime minister had already said that he was not fully satisfied with the local government system introduced in KP, although it had empowered the ordinary citizens to a great extent.
He had hinted at further sprucing up the LG system in KP and the improved version of the system would be introduced in Punjab and Balochistan where the PTI has governments in coalition with some other political parties.
Sources further revealed that the government was also contemplating to take other political leaders into confidence on the new LG system as without the support of opposition parties, the same would not be passed from the provincial assemblies of Punjab and Balochistan.
Sources said that in the upcoming sessions of National Assembly and Senate which would be followed by initiation of the new Parliamentary Year by the address of President Arif Alvi to the joint sitting of the Parliament on Monday (September 17), the ruling coalition leaders would be taking into loop the main opposition parties including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz and Pakistan People’s Party on some key pieces of legislation aimed at providing relief to the common man.
As the government does not have majority in the Upper House, so any legislation would be quite difficult to get passed without the support of the opposition parties – at least one of the two major opposition parties.
These sources further said that be it introduction of new local government system or bringing changes in the finance bill, the ruling PTI would be requiring the support of opposition parties for which its leadership would soon be meeting Parliamentary parties’ heads.