Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhary Fawad Hussain on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Imran Khan believes in a strong local government.

Addressing a National Conference on ‘Future of Local Government’. Fawad admitted that it was government’s mistake to delay local body elections in its foundation year. Provinces have been given authority under the auspices of 18th amendment.

He said that imposing Article 148 is a big problem. It is impossible to take the country towards advancement unless the old mindsets are updated.

He said that Prime Minister Imran Khan believed from day one that people’s problems could not be resolved without a strong local government system. The Minister regretted that the local government systems established in Punjab and Sindh in the past were not fully empowered as the funds were not transferred to them.

Fawad pointed out that under the 18th amendment, powers were devolved to the provinces but these were not further transferred to the local bodies. He said that during the past three years Rs 2300 billion were transferred to Punjab, Rs 1700 billion to Sindh, Rs 900 billion to KPK and Rs 700 billion to Balochistan.

He, further, said Local Government is stalled due to CM’s unwillingness, and it is possible to manage the affairs of Karachi while sitting in Islamabad. Sindh government is not spending a penny in Sindh, Chaudhry reiterated.