Irfan vows legal course against decree

KABUL’s Deputy Secretary Irfanullah Irfan on Wednesday said the president could not issue his decree reinstating provincial councils (PCs)’s oversight role until the law on PCs was enforced and published in the official gazette.

The Wolesi Jirga or lower house has approved an amended draft of the law on provincial councils, barring the bodies from overseeing the performance of local departments. The amended law has been signed by the president, but it is yet to be published in the official gazette.

The decision sparked protests by provincial council members across the country, closing their offices. As the protests continued, the Independent Directorate of Local Governance (IDLG) jointly prepared amendments to the law with PC members giving them back their right to oversee local departments.

A day earlier, a government official told Pajhwok Afghan News the president had signed a decree reinstating the oversight role of the provincial councils after a cabinet decision, but the decree was yet to be issued.

Irfan said the president could not issue the decree until the amended law on provincial council was implemented and published in the official gazette.

“We have earlier suggested that the president should first publish the law and then issue his decree or present an amendment,” Irfan said.

He said the decree would lack constitutional cover until the law was implemented and said the house would adopt a legal course to deal with the decree once landed in the parliament, but he did not elaborate.

The provincial council members have warned of launching a protest movement if the president did not issue his decree.

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