Islamabad – A four-day public referendum against the Punjab Local Government Act has begun across all districts of Punjab, with active participation from citizens belonging to various walks of life and schools of thought. Organized by Jamaat-e-Islami, the referendum has witnessed widespread public engagement and enthusiasm throughout the province.
Jamaat-e-Islami workers have established referendum booths and camps at union council levels and in prominent public spaces, including shops, markets, bus stands, railway stations, mosques, streets, and major intersections. Ballot boxes are being taken door-to-door and to public places to collect opinions from citizens regarding the controversial local government law.
As part of the campaign, Naib Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Liaquat Baloch and Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab Dr. Tariq Saleem addressed a public gathering at Kachhari Chowk, Gujrat. Meanwhile, Secretary General Jamaat-e-Islami Punjab Iqbal Khan inaugurated the referendum camp in Attock and visited several other cities and districts to oversee the process. Addressing participants, Liaquat Baloch termed the Punjab Local Government Act undemocratic and unconstitutional.
He said that previously the Senate and National Assembly had become centers of horse-trading, and now, through non-party-based local government elections, the ruling elite intends to extend this practice to the grassroots level. He criticized the government for stripping the public of decision-making authority by placing local government institutions under bureaucratic control. Jamaat-e-Islami, he said, will continue its strong resistance against this law and will force the government to withdraw it. He added that transferring administrative, financial, and decision-making powers from elected representatives to the bureaucracy has no constitutional justification.
Dr. Tariq Saleem and Iqbal Khan stated that through this public referendum, people are being asked whether they support key demands, including holding local government elections on a party basis, conducting direct elections of Union Council Chairmen and Vice Chairmen, granting full financial, political, and administrative autonomy to local governments, and making district bureaucracy accountable to elected representatives. They emphasized that the referendum aims to gather the opinion of millions of people across Punjab on the Punjab Local Government Act, which they described as a direct attack on the democratic and constitutional rights of the public. They stressed that public issues cannot be resolved unless local government institutions are provided complete autonomy. The leaders demanded immediate amendments to the Local Government Act, restoration of direct elections for mayors and chairmen, and full authority for elected representatives to utilize development funds. They further called for constitutional protection of local government institutions to ensure the establishment of empowered, transparent, and effective local governments across Punjab, enabling real relief for citizens and genuine transfer of power to the grassroots level.