First move to dent Dist Nazims' powers

This monopoly of power by one institution established a new kind of privilege to which the despotic political power at that time provided the entrée, which is being resented by the present rulers, especially in the Punjab as their aim to deliver,” he maintained.

“Political and administrative changes made sans commonsense always lead to confusion and conflict, and that is what we have been facing because of the Devolution Plan. All changes should be made for the better and must come gradually, and should not be whimsically outlined for meeting certain ulterior motives. But all the President’s men utterly changed everything that gave birth to a terrible mayhem. Instead of opening one front at a time, they in search of utopia, were lost in a jungle of political wilderness by opening numerous fronts. All the institutions upon which the state stands were gradually eroded and until these institutions are re-established on firm footing, the state will confront a chaotic situation,” averred the source while strongly advocating the need for doing away with the LGO ASAP for running the administration in a better way.

According to the constitution, the LGS and the Police Order are the provincial subjects, while the then powers, duly backed by General Musharraf, finished the well-tested system of governance, which had been yielding positive results. “The provinces had also agreed that the LGS had absolutely failed to deliver. The system, which was introduced through the LGO, devolved corruption, which has seeped to the grassroots level. Instead of devolving its own functions, the federal government devolved the functions of the provinces to the District Nazims. The federal government had decided that it would devolve the provincial authority on to the districts, which is the prerogative of the provincial authority. Everyone knows what was the frame of mind behind this - ‘to establish supremacy of one institution over all other institutions’.

The Federation will only get strengthened once everyone works within laid down purview in the Constitution, which was also one of the subjects of the last legislative polls,” said an officer, while vowing that the provinces knew what should be done to bring back the system on track, even with steps, like restoring the office of the Divisional Commissioner.