Opposition Leader of the Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rashid said on Saturday his Pakistan Tehreek-i -Insaf (PTI) would oppose the new local government law expected to be introduced in the provincial assembly and said it was a replica of a local government law introduced by Ziaul Haq in 1979.
He said that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government wanted to curtail the administrative and financial powers of elected representatives at the grass roots level.
He said election of mayors and district and tehsil council chairpersons on partyless basis was proposed to make it easier to buy and sell votes.
He said in the proposed local government system, the responsibility for law and order was being given to DPOs and DCOs rather elected representatives.
Rashid said the PML-N and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had agreed in the Charter of Democracy that local government elections would be held on party basis. He said the PML-N appeared set to violate the agreement.
He also said that the government was adopting a discriminatory policy towards rural and urban constituencies.
He said his party rejected the proposed system and its members would attend the assembly wearing black armbands.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 21st, 2013.