Creation of federating units: PTI govt urged to honour commitment

MANSEHRA: The deputy convener of Sooba Hazara Tehreek and former federal minister, Syed Qasim Shah, on Sunday said that more federating units were the need of the hour and the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government should follow the assembly’s resolutions in this regard.

“We not only want Hazara province but also such more federating units in the country for better governance and fair distribution of resources,” Qasim Shah told reporters here.

Flanked by the former tehsil member Assad Ali Shah, he said that the Tehreek recently organised countrywide public meetings to compel the government to ensure the creation of Hazara and more federating units in the country.

“If the PTI has been consulting with other political parties for the Southern Punjab province then why not for the Hazara province as the prime minister and his party leaders had announced to give Hazara the status of a separate province,” he added.

He said that the local governments were the foundation of the democratic system but the successive governments didn’t empower them to serve the people in letter and spirit.

“If the government wants to make local governments successful and serve people in a better way then it should devolve powers to the grassroots level,” Qasim Shah maintained.

The former federal minister, who also had remained the district chairman, said that the local government system introduced by the then military ruler, Gen Ziaul Haq, was most powerful.

“If the government wants a true local government system it should make it independent,” he added.