PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court here the other day sought reply from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government within a fortnight to a plea of several heads of different categories of local governments, seekingextension oftheirtenureby making amendments in the local government law.

A bench consisting of Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel also directed the KP advocate general, Shah Faisal Uthmankhel, and petitioners` counsel Babar Khan Yousafzai to argue on next date on the maintainability of the petition.The bench fixed April 24 for next hearing of the petition jointly filed by 29 mayors and chairmen of different city local governments, tehsil local governments, neighbourhood and village councils including Mardan city government mayor Himayatullah Mayar and others.

The petitioners have requested the court to direct Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government through its chief secretary and other respondents to extend tenure of the petitioners one time for a period of three years through amendment in Section 79 of KP Local Government Act, 2013.

They also requested the court to facilitate the petitioners by giving administrative and financial authority to them in accordance with the law.

The petition includes KP chief secretary, its secretaries of local government and law and parliamentary affairs asrespondents.

Babar Khan Yousafzai contended that under Section 30 of KP LocalGovernment Act (KPLGA) money and grants had to be received from the government or other authorities in Pakistan by local governments but so far no such grants were being received and without receiving the same the 131 tehsil councils throughout the province were unable topresent their annual budget.

He stated that under the law, the devolved offices needed to be handed over to elected mayors/ chairmen but the same had not been handed over to elected representatives till date due to which all those offices were almost non-functional.

He said that local government elections were held in the province in two phases on December 19, 2021, and March 31, 2022.

He said that there were 131 tehsil councils throughout the province and petitioners like other mayors/ chairmen were representing more than 50 million residents of the province.

The counsel argued that since the assumption of charge of their respective offices, all the mayors/ chairmen and members of local councils had not been handed over their financial and administrative authorities to run the affairs of their offices.

He said that soon after conduct of elections, drastic changes were made in the KPLGA through KP Local Government (Amendment) Act, 2022, and the petitioners had challenged those amendments. He added that the high court had so far not delivered its judgement in that case.

Moreover, he pointed out that during the course of general election of Feb 2024, all the local councils throughout the province had been suspended and the suspension period needed to be condoned from the tenure of the present elected councils.

AG Shah Faisal Uthmankhel stated that he would file reply on behalf of the provincial government.