The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill to further amend the KP Local Government Act, 2013 to waive off the dissolution of the district council after the failure of Nazim in getting vote of confidence in three consecutive votes.
The second amendment was in Section 84, Sub-Section 2, which says that in case of a Nazim or Naib Nazim, District Government or Tehsil or Town Nazim or Naib Nazim fails to approve first budget of a District Council or Tehsil or Town Council, as the case may be, not less than 20 per cent of the members of the concerned council shall place requisition before the council asking the concerned Nazim or Naib Nazim to seek fresh vote of confidence from the council concerned and if, he fails to get the vote of confidence, then the Nazim or Naib Nazim shall cease to hold office.
Leader of the Opposition in KP Assembly Maulana Lutfur Rehman said that as the matter is sub-judice therefore, the House morally should not have passed such bill.
He said that the government is consecutively bringing amendments in laws and the bill introduced in the House on Wednesday was aimed at removing one Nazim and protecting another.
He said that the institutes could not be run in such a manner and termed the amendment as discriminatory and malafide.
The senior minister for Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) defended the amendments and said that in Mardan, 40 councilors complained that budget was not passed in constitutional manner as only 37 members were present in the House.
He said that the forensic test has proved that signatures on the report submitted by the district Nazim were fake. He said that similar is witnessed in Torghar District, where unique grouping of councilors has been formed and the Local Government Commission has to establish if no confidence against the Nazim has actually been passed or not. He said out of 23 councilors, 23 are expressing no confidence on Nazim and the case was referred to the commission, which has to take final decision.
Sardar Hussain Babak, the parliamentary leader of Awami National Party (ANP) took the floor to speak, but Speaker Asad Qaisar declined to allow him, which prompted the joint opposition to stage walkout from the house.
Later, a two member delegation of the treasury benches comprising Senior Minister Inayatullah Khan and Adviser to CM on Information Mushtaq Ghani held negotiations with opposition and brought them back to the House.
The speaker later adjourned the proceedings of the House till 3pm on Friday.