Former National Reconstruction Bureau (NRB) chairman and Jeeway Pakistan-Jeeway Mukami Hakoomtain (JPJMH) Chairman Daniyal Aziz on Monday condemned the Punjab government over price hike, poor policies, mismanagement and corruption and announced that a campaign will be launched against the Punjab government for not holding local government (LG) elections.
Holding a press conference at Lahore Press Club, Daniyal said that the campaign would be started with a public convention in Gujranwala on November 3 and later they would also expand their campaign to others cities of the province. “We will announce a complete schedule to mobilise the masses for their rights after Eid” he said. The former NRB chairman said that former nazims and councilors and a large number of masses from all over the province would participate in the convention. “The Punjab government has taken LGs hostage by appointing administrators and around Rs 119 billion of LGs has been used by the provincial government,” he said, adding that they had challenged appointments of administrators and the court had ordered the provincial government to hold LG elections.
“The provincial government is using delaying tactics for not holding the elections. We will file a petition of contempt of court against this attitude of the Punjab government soon,” he said. Daniyal said that people were deprived of their democratic rights in a ‘democratic era’. The former NRB chairman said that the government held by-polls and general elections in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) but LG elections were being delayed by taking plea of security lapses, which was absolute malice. “Unfortunately, it seems that the Election Commission is working for not holding the elections”, he said. Responding to a question, Daniyal said they would support all those parties who would support LGs. He said that the city government of Gujranwala was not allowing them to hold a convention, which was a democratic right. To a question, he said they did not have any contact with former president General (r) Pervez Musharraf or his party the APML.