Jeeway Pakistan Jeeway Maqami-Hakoomat (JPJMH) Chairman Daniyal Aziz said provincial governments were illegally using Local Government (LG) funds and deliberately delaying local government elections in violation of Article 140A of the Constitution. Daniyal was addressing at a large public meeting at Hermain on Thursday. A large number of women, youth, former Union Council, Tehsil and District Nazims, former councilors and others attended the public meeting. LCA Khyber Pakhtunkhawa and ex-Haripur Nazim Yousaf Ayub, LCA Sindh Convenor and ex-Nazim Sukkur Nasir Shah, LCA Punjab President and ex-Nazim Lodhran Asghar Shah Gilani, LCA Balochistan President and ex-Quetta Nazim Maqbool Lehri and others aaddressed the public meeting.
Daniyal Aziz said today’s participation shook the throne of rulers and if anybody tried to hinder the way of struggle for local governments, which is the democratic right of people, more resistance would be shown against it. Daniyal said inflation had pushed the poor towards the wall and the poor have been deprived of even a one time meal. He said this form of democracy is unacceptable where the poor are selling their children. He said inflation is caused to benefit billionaires who are sitting in assemblies. He said in our government there was no inflation He said: “I fie on this form of democracy where prices of petrol and electricity are sky-rocketing and the poor is unable to pay school and hospital fees. He said the days of corrupt rulers are over and now the poor will be empowered.
Aziz said provincial governments, through notifications, had funneled LG funds into MPA discretionary funds which is not permitted by law. He said MPAs were looting funds through contractors using this. He said local governments were the third tier of democracy and the political government had delayed LG polls for two years to usurp the political and democratic rights of local people, including women, minorities, peasants and labourers.
He said inflation could not be controlled through administrative measures but rather through increasing interest rates, which was against the interest of the political leadership, who had taken billions in bank loans. He said the suspension of the Police Order 2002 had left Public Safety Commissions non-functional and the rights of locals were being violated. He said Local Council Associations had filed 27 cases over the last two years in the Supreme Court of Pakistan and High Courts in four provinces to restore Local Governments and against the appointment of an administrator instead of Nazims but no progress was seen. Daniyal said each union council should be financially empowered with tehsil status and each tehsil be given the district status.
True that inflation, poverty and corruption are issues raised by all political parties these days. Imran Khan's rally was a reflection of this frustration and his prior status as a national sportsman helped him. But the crowd was composed mostly of middle and upper middle class young people. This is, no doubt, a force in society. However, Pakistan is still a rural country and there was a singular reference to this rural population–which, tellingly did not draw vocal approval from the crowd. Imran Khan, to his credit, has brought critical issues to the fore. His foreign policy–apart from the reference to China's importance–was a fantasy. Can Pakistan really accept the Taliban and extremist violent groups as "brothers?" Even if China is possibly the rising most super super-power in the world, can Pakistan really confront the US? Hasn't the US shown what it can do in terms of dismembering Pakistan via its clandestine policies in Balochistan? Imran Khan is a good palative to the pathetic leaders of the major policies. The fact that he can't deliver; the fact that comparisons to ZA Bhutto are stupid might not stop the awam from voting him into office. That would be the same awam that has put Zardari and Sharif Bradran into office. Let's try that too: "ainoo vee daith laviya". And then Daniyal Aziz, the only person with the smarts–both technical and political–will get his chance. Jeevay Pakistan has only started its campaign. It will be the author of real change in Pakistan through a pragmatic, long term and systematic program of social and institutional change.
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