PESHAWAR: A large number of Nazims and councillors from Mardan, Charsadda and Peshawar districts held demonstrations on Monday, asking the government to provide offices, facilities, honoraria and powers to them.

The Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors from the district, tehsil, village and neighbourhood councils gathered outside the Peshawar Press Club from where they moved to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and staged a sit-in there.

They said the government for the past seven months had failed to provide them with facilities and powers for carrying out development activities.

The Palcistan Tehreek-iInsaf-led provincial government, they claimed, had backtracked from its promise of devolving powers to local bodies. Most of the powers had been given to bureaucracy, they said.

Muttahida Village andNeighbourhood Councils Nazims and Councillors Association president Rahim Khan and general secretary Sajid Khan led the demonstrations.

The protesters, carrying banners and placards, raised slogans against the provincial government and local government and rural development department for turning a deaf ear to their demands. `Stop the economic murder of the Nazims, Naib Nazims and councillors,` and `The claimer of change, empower Nazims, read placards.

The Nazims of the village and neighbourhood councils have been paying rent of their offices from their own pockets because the local government department had not released funds to them.

Of the 3,501 village and neighbourhood councils, only 600 have ofHces in government buildings, while the local government has asked the Nazims of the remaining councils to set up ofñcesinrented buildings.

The Nazims of the neighbourhood councils would get up to Rs10, 000 as of fice rentwhile the Nazims of village councils would get up to Rs5,000, said a Nazim. But the government had not released a single penny, he regretted.

The Nazims and councillors have decided to stage a rally outside the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Peshawar, when PTI Chairman Imran Khan would come to inaugurate the facility.

The decision to stage protest was taken at a meeting of district councillors belonging to opposition parties. Raham Dil Nawaz of PML-N, Razaullah of the PPP, Syed Zahir of the ANP and Zubair Ali of the JUI-F attended the meeting.

Talking to Dawn, Raham Dil Nawaz said that 48 councillors of the Peshawar district council had attended the meeting.

The councillors will gather at Ajmal Khan Khattak Chowk in Hayatabad on Tuesday and then proceed to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre where they will stage a sit-in.