Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Ahsan Iqbal has termed the suspension of local bodies in Punjab illegal.

In a press conference on Monday, the PML-N leader said the Supreme Court had ordered to restore the local bodies, but the government put the decision in cold storage. He further said that the government has made the local government system a toy, adding that the rights of the people of Punjab were being violated but the state was silent.

Iqbal further said that local bodies system was not made operational despite orders, saying that Prime Minister Imran Khan and Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar should be punished for violating Article 6 of the Constitution.

Earlier, the Punjab government decided to dissolve all local bodies across Punjab including in Rawalpindi. All local bodies will dissolve on the night of December 31. On December 13, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Sarwar signed the Punjab Local Government Ordinance 2021 into law.

SC restores local govt system in Punjab

Under the new system, the heads of the local bodies mayors and chairmen will be replaced by administrators, while deputy commissioners will be appointed as administrators of all municipal corporations across the province.

Similarly, the deputy commissioners will be appointed as administrators of the Metropolitan Municipal Corporations. Moreover, assistant commissioners or senior officers of the ministry of the local government will be posted as administrators of all tehsils of the province.

Meanwhile, the secretary union councils will assume immediate charge of all the union councils across Punjab.