Peshawar, June 11: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has refused to accept resignations by two dozen protesting mayors in the North West Frontier Province, and ordered the provincial government to restore their powers, one of the mayors said today. The 24 mayors from all over the province announced earlier this month they would step down after the hardline local government decided to sack two of their colleagues who were accused of misusing their authority. The mayors claim the Islamic government was trying to curb their power. Peshawar district mayor Azam Khan Afridi said that at a meeting with Musharraf, "The President ordered the provincial government to issue a notification restoring powers of the mayors within 10 days."
Afridi said they would wait for the provincial government to restore their powers, before taking a final decision on their resignations.
The mayors and local councillors were elected in 2001 polls that were the first Musharraf allowed since his 1999 coup. Political parties, including that of the Islamic hard-liners, were not allowed to take part in that vote.
The opposition has denounced the system as an effort by Musharraf to give power to his supporters. Bureau Report