PAT decides to accelerate mass contact campaign

In a meeting held at the Central Secretariat of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), senior PAT leaders have regretted the absence of timely legislation on the local government elections. They said that keeping the people deprived of their constitutional right of vote is not only a deviation from the democratic norms but also a violation of the constitution. They said that if the government doesn't have the capacity to prepare a comprehensive legal bill, then it should hire the services of professionals.

The PAT leaders said that despite the repeated notices and warnings by the judiciary, the Punjab government has miserably failed to legislate on the matter to date. They said that precious resources and time are being wasted in the preparation of one draft after the other with virtually no effect on the final outcome.

The meeting of Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) was presided over by central President Qazi Zahid Hussain and attended by Khurram Nawaz Gandapur, Basharat Aziz Jaspal, Raja Zahid Mahmood, provincial presidents Mian Rehan Maqbool, Noor Ahmad Sahoo, Qazi Shafique, Dr Rafique Najam, Allama Rana Muhammad Idrees, Noorullah Siddiqui, Arif Chaudhry, GM Malik, Ijaz Saddozai, Ibrar Raza Advocate, Dr Sultan Mahmood Ch, Mian Kashif, Rao Kamran, Mirza Junaid, Naseer Khan Judoon, Dr Farah Naz, Abdul Haye Alvi, Toquir Awan, Sidra Karamat, Hafiz Ghulam Farid, Qazi Faiz-ul-Islam, Mazhar Mahmood Alvi, Sheikh Farhan Aziz, Pir Ishtiaq Chishti, Hafiz Waqar, and Ayesha Mubashar. Secretary Coordination Arif Chaudhry briefed the meeting on the proposed administrative structure of the local government intitutions.

Speaking in the meeting, Qazi Zahid Hussain said that both the Sindh and Punjab governments have not succeeded in presenting acceptable laws on the local governments so far, which is a matter of serious concern. He demanded that all the legal and administrative requirements regarding upcoming local government pols should be fulfilled at the earliest.

While speaking on the occasion, PAT Secretary General Khurram Nawaz Gandapur said that PAT is fully prepared to take part in the elections. He asked the workers to speed up the mess contact campaign. He demanded that the Election Commission should launch an awareness campaign to apprise the eligible voters and candidates about the changes in the law. He said whatever be the circumstances, the local government elections should not be postponed at any cost.

The participants of the meeting expressed their concern on a vast electoral constituency of Lord Mayor of Lahore and asked where the resources will come from for such an exercise. They also expressed their concern on the delay in the provision of justice in the Model Town case.