{"id":8326,"date":"2022-11-23T14:33:40","date_gmt":"2022-11-23T14:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/?p=8326"},"modified":"2022-11-23T14:33:40","modified_gmt":"2022-11-23T14:33:40","slug":"hrcp-conference-calls-for-constitutional-amendment-to-protect-local-governments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/hrcp-conference-calls-for-constitutional-amendment-to-protect-local-governments\/","title":{"rendered":"HRCP conference calls for constitutional amendment to protect local governments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Press release<\/p>\n

HRCP conference calls for constitutional amendment to protect\u00a0local governments<\/strong><\/p>\n

Islamabad, 23 November 2022<\/em>.\u00a0A\u00a0national conference\u00a0held by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)\u00a0in partnership with the Friedrich Naumman Foundation for Freedom (FNF), has called for a constitutional amendment to protect the form and tenure of\u00a0local governments\u00a0and to ensure that\u00a0fiscal decentralisation\u00a0enables local bodies to carry out their functions effectively.<\/p>\n

Introducing the conference,\u00a0Birgit Lamm,\u00a0head of\u00a0the\u00a0Pakistan office\u00a0at FNF,\u00a0said that local governments\u00a0were\u00a0\u2018schools of democracy\u2019.\u00a0HRCP\u2019s\u00a0secretary-general\u00a0Harris Khalique\u00a0said that\u00a0a strong democracy\u00a0warranted\u00a0effective, well-resourced local governments.<\/p>\n

In the first session, Dr\u00a0Umair Javed,\u00a0assistant professor of politics and sociology\u00a0at\u00a0LUMS, explained that\u00a0Article 140-A\u00a0was\u00a0an inadequate safeguard for local governments, adding that\u00a0provincial governments\u2019\u00a0municipal and legislative responsibilities should be delinked.\u00a0Lawyer Hamid Khan said that\u00a0MPAs\u00a0and MNAs\u00a0had\u00a0become\u00a0\u2018unnecessary rivals\u2019\u00a0to local governments\u00a0and recommended that development funds be given\u00a0only\u00a0to local bodies.<\/p>\n

Fauzia Viqar,\u00a0former chairperson\u00a0of the\u00a0Punjab Commission on the Status of Women, emphasised that women\u2019s participation in local governments should not be tokenised.\u00a0Dr\u00a0Aziz Ahmad,\u00a0professor of economics\u00a0at BUITEMS, pointed to the \u2018asymmetry\u2019\u00a0between political and fiscal decentralisation,\u00a0saying that the latter would\u00a0help reduce gender\u00a0and\u00a0income disparities.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the second session,\u00a0Zafarullah Khan,\u00a0chief executive\u00a0of\u00a0Ideas for Vision 2047, said that\u00a0local governments should be able to make their own rules of business. Qazi Khizar,\u00a0vice-chair\u00a0of\u00a0HRCP\u2019s\u00a0Sindh\u00a0chapter, said that marginalised groups such as\u00a0trans persons\u00a0and\u00a0religious minorities\u00a0should not be\u00a0barred from direct election\u00a0to local governments, even though the law provided for reserved seats.<\/p>\n

PPP\u00a0KP Assembly member\u00a0Ahmad Kundi\u00a0suggested introducing\u00a0constitutional courts\u00a0as a way to safeguard local governments. Supreme Court advocate\u00a0Mubeen Uddin Qazi\u00a0underscored the need for\u00a0a constitutional structure\u00a0to\u00a0protect\u00a0their continuity, while Dr\u00a0Nasrullah Khan, chief\u00a0executive\u00a0of the\u00a0Centre for Peace and Development, said that\u00a0a mechanism to oversee local governments\u2019 financial accountability and capacity building of local representatives\u00a0was necessary.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the third session,\u00a0Attaullah Tarar, special assistant to the prime minister\u00a0(PML-N), recommended legislation to ensure that all local government laws required\u00a0a two-thirds majority in the provincial government so that local bodies\u00a0were\u00a0not easily suspended.\u00a0ANP\u00a0KP Assembly member Samar Haroon Bilour\u00a0recommended that local elections should be held on a party basis so that constituents\u00a0were\u00a0aware of the broader political values of the representatives they\u00a0were\u00a0voting for.<\/p>\n

Sibtal Haider Bukhari, in-charge\u00a0of the PPP\u00a0central secretariat,\u00a0said that\u00a0accurate voter lists\u00a0were essential. MQM\u00a0Sindh Assembly member Ali Khurshidi\u00a0agreed, adding that\u00a0the census\u00a0should be\u00a0rectified so that voter lists and delimitations\u00a0were\u00a0more accurate. Fatima Haider,\u00a0a PTI\u00a0party election committee member,\u00a0said that constitutional cover\u00a0was\u00a0needed to prevent provincial assemblies from encroaching on local governments\u2019 functions.<\/p>\n

Hina Jilani
\nChairperson<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>