LAHORE: The former Nazimeen have held the members of the provincial assembly’s responsible for delay in the local government elections.
Speaking a seminar Friday, they said that the MPAs did not want to devolve power to the elected representatives of local councils. They demanded the government hold LG elections so that public problems could be resolved.
According to press release, the seminar on the local government policy and its implementation was organised by Devolution Trust for Community Empowerment with the support of USAID.
MPA Raheela Khadim Hussain cited delimitation of union councils as reason for the delay in holding the LG elections.  “Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif wants to hold the elections as under the 18th Amendment, the provincial governments are bound to do so, she said and hoped the election would be held soon. She also said that census is imperative before delimitation of union councils as census of 1998 is unjustified for this important task.
Former Nazim Rana Saleem claimed that MPA’s did not want to share their power with elected local government reps. Faiz Naeem, Executive District Officer Community Development briefed functions about Musalihat Anjuman in urban areas and Punjahit in rural areas.
MPAs Salma Butt; Farzana Butt, Nasreen Nawaz, former LG reps, lawyers NGO workers Wajahat Batul and Zafar Malik also joined in.