Articles for author: Jabeen Mustafa

First-time councilors in Merged Areas learn the ropes of local governance

For people whose voice remained on the periphery of mainstream politics for decades, having the right to vote and making decisions at the community level is nothing less than revolutionary. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP) Merged Areas (MA), entire generations had lived and died without knowing what it meant to live with constitutional rights. After the merger with KP, people in the region had high hopes. They would finally have a say in how they were being governed. When the Local Government (LG) elections were announced, excitement filled every household. Hujras were suddenly busier than usual. Men would sit late at