ISLAMABAD: Jamaat-e-Islami ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman, while holding a press conference in Islamabad, called tree cutting in the capital an environmental crime and demanded an immediate explanation from the government.
He said that the government’s claim that thousands of trees have been planted is tantamount to misleading the public. According to him, cutting down big trees and planting small branches is not environmental protection but a joke on the environment.
Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman said that the local government ordinance in Islamabad should be abolished immediately and holding local government elections on February 15 is inevitable so that the people can get their democratic rights back.
Describing the Punjab Local Government Act as unconstitutional and undemocratic, he said that not electing the Union Council Chairman directly through public vote under the current law is against the spirit of democracy.
He said that after the non-partisan elections, political markets will be held where elected representatives will be forced to join different parties, which is an attempt to weaken the democratic system.
