PM Imran directs CM Buzdar to consult Pervaiz Elahi on local bodies elections

LAHORE: Prime Minister Imran Khan has advised Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar and Punjab Minister for Local Government and Community Development Mian Mehmoodur Rasheed to meet Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) Leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and keep them on board regarding the upcoming local bodies elections.

“Both of you should meet the PML-Q Leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi and address the grievances of party regarding Punjab’s Local Bodies Act/Legislation,” sources from the Prime Minister Secretariat quoted the premier saying on Friday.

Sources said that the premier had instructed the CM that seasoned politician Pervaiz Elahi should be taken on board regarding the local bodies legislation and it should be given drafted after consultations with him.

The decision was taken in a high-level meeting chaired by the premier regarding the local bodies elections and legislation.

Sources added that the ice between the PML-Q and the Buzdar-led PTI government has already been broken after a recent meeting between PML-Q leader and Pervaiz Elahi’s son Moonis Elahi with the CM Buzdar.

PM had also advised the CM to streamline things regarding LG elections and go ahead with them as per party’s promise to the people of Pakistan in its elections campaign and manifesto, sources confirmed to Bol News on Friday.

“After this consultation between the CM, Mehmoodur Rasheed and Pervaiz Elahi regarding local bodies legislation and elections the ties would further improve,” a source from CM office said.

It is pertinent to mention that empowering local bodies was one of the salient features of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s elections campaign in 2018 which was also the part of its manifesto.

The PTI had promised that it will transform Pakistan by devolving power and decision-making to the people through an empowered local government. Local development in villages and small towns in Pakistan is controlled by MPAs and MNAs, or by the bureaucracy, who do not want to cede authority and relevance.

“We will devolve small infrastructure initiatives to village councils by transferring resources and decision-making power to the people of Pakistan by scaling out our successful K-P model across Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan,” the PTI manifesto reads.

The PTI had also, in its manifesto, stated that learning from its K-P experience, they will further refine the LG structure, and introduce a city government model, where the directly elected mayor will be responsible to deliver on all interrelated urban city matters.

“We are taking steps in the right direction and moving a step forward towards the fulfillment of this promise regarding the local governments,” a senior PTI leader from Punjab told Bol News.