Police used baton charges, tear gas, and water cannons to disperse hundreds of elected local government representatives who were protesting against the provincial government for failing to release development funds since the establishment of local governments in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about three years ago.
The protesters, including around 500 chairmen and members of tehsil, village, and neighborhood councils, gathered at Jinnah Park, Peshawar. They were frustrated that, since local body elections in December 2021, no funds had been allocated for development schemes. They also criticized the provincial government for not devolving administrative powers to the tehsil level after abolishing the district tier of the local government system.
Prominent figures like Peshawar Mayor Zubair Ali led the procession from Jinnah Park to the Chief Minister House, chanting slogans against the provincial government. When police blocked their route with security gates, the protesters breached them and continued their march. In response, police deployed tear gas and water cannons, leading to significant traffic jams as the protesters blocked Khyber Road.
Awami National Party provincial president Mian Iftikhar Hussain condemned the police action and defended the protesters’ right to demonstrate. He criticized the PTI-led KP government for using force against peaceful demonstrators while protesting federal government restrictions.
The protest ended in the evening after a delegation met Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who promised to address their concerns and schedule a meeting to discuss the issues of fund allocation and administrative devolution. The chief minister assured that heads of administrative departments would be summoned to resolve these matters.
Protester Taimur Kamal from Tehsil Council Pabbi highlighted that the provincial government had not established offices for key departments at the tehsil level nor devolved necessary administrative powers, instead retaining these powers with deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners under the pretext of a transitional period.
