Over 27pc union councils of Balochistan non-functional – Pakistan

Quetta: More than two years after the local government elections in Baluchistan, more than 27 percent of the union councils throughout the province remain non -functional due to the lack of funds, while the elections for the Quetta Metropolitan Corporation (QMC) have not yet been held, leaving the civic body under administrative control.

This was revealed during a session on the state of the local government, organized by the Baluchistan Women’s Business Association (BWBA) in Quetta Press Club.

The event was attended by a large number of interested parties, including the director of the Metropolitan Corporation of the local government, Matiur Rehman Kasi, and former councilors Yasmeen Mughal, Aslam Rind, Behram Baloch, Zafar Baloch, Behram Lehri and others.

Zahra Hassan, organizer of BWBA, opened the discussion by emphasizing the role of elected local governments in solving public problems at the base level. She said that local operational and empowered organisms were key to addressing people’s daily problems through their elected representatives.

The province has one of the weakest local and dysfunctional local government systems, he told Session

The speakers described the local government as the backbone of democratic governance, noting that Pakistan, especially Baluchistan, has one of the weakest and dysfunctional local government systems.

Of the 871 Baluchistan trade union tips, more than a quarter have not yet become operational due to the absence of budget allocations, the participants said.

They spoke extensively about the importance and use of the local government system, which according to that it has ironically remained fragile under democratic governments, but obtained more autonomy during the military regimes of the Ayub generation, the Zia e gene generation and even during the British colonial domain before the creation of Pakistan.

The absence of local government elections in Quetta was attributed to the political interference and disputes on the delimitations of the constituency raised by the political parties, the participants said.

They emphasized that the objective of the local government system was to establish effective links between the government and the public, improve the provision of services, introduce a registration system for residents, address basic problems, focus on basic infrastructure and guarantee access to essential services such as health, cleaning and education at the basic level.

They added that a strong local government system not only reduced public problems, but also promoted transparency and democracy.

It was observed that responsibility and transparency could only be achieved through a strong connection between citizens and the government.

They urged the provincial government to immediately hold the delayed QMC elections to allow Quetta residents to choose their representatives and end the dependence on bureaucratic administrators.

They also demanded that the funds assigned for local agencies be distributed among local government institutions through the Provincial Finance Commission to initiate development projects.

Posted in Dawn, April 21, 2025



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