Extensive plans are afoot by a group of local politicians and influential bureaucrats to snatch away CDA chairmanship from Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz who is heading the civic authority since September 2016, Pakistan Today has learnt.
Sheikh Anser Aziz, previously an outsider in city politics, was elected as mayor on February 15, 2016 and became not only the first ever mayor of Islamabad but also the first individual to head the newly-formed Metropolitan Corporation (MCI).
Sources confided to Pakistan Today that a group of local politicians headed by Minister of State Capital Administration and Development Division Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhary and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Political Affairs Dr Asif Kirmani is campaigning behind the scenes to oust the mayor.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has regularly censured CDA during the past year on its sluggish performance over rampant encroachments, dysfunctional streetlights, failure to develop new sectors, poor condition of roads and dire shortage of water supply. Interestingly, even after the PM had nominated the mayor firstly as member of CDA Board and then gave him additional charge of CDA chairman but the things did not improve.
It is pertinent to mention here that since the inception of Islamabad back in early 60’s, CDA has enjoyed complete power over the affairs of the city. CDA regulated the planning, design, infrastructure, vetting and approval of projects, encroachments, schools, hospitals, construction of new buildings in Islamabad Capital Territory all on its own.
Previously the CDA chairman either hailed from bureaucrat or armed services in the past. For the first time in its 57 years history Sheikh Anser Aziz, an elected local bodies’ representative became the chairman after Maroof Afzal was transferred as Additional Secretary Establishment Division on August 22, 2016 ending month’s long tug of war between CDA and MCI over demarcation of powers and division of departments.
‘Maryam Nawaz is all set to contest 2018 elections from Islamabad and there are three local political groups of PML-N currently active in Capital. One group is led by a minister and special assistant, another by the mayor and last one by former MNA Anjum Aqeel Khan. The tug-of-war between these groups is getting intense by the day as election year is just around the corner,’ confided a party insider on condition of anonymity. He further said that the old guard of local politicians found it hard to digest the new bonhomie between the mayor and PM Nawaz Sharif.
Despite repeated attempts to contact him on his personal number and leaving text messages, Mayor Sheikh Anser Aziz wasn’t available for a comment.
