Union councils of Pakistan

Administration

Union councils are the primary governmental institution in Pakistan. They are often known as "village councils" in rural areas. The territory represented by a village council usually comprises a large village and surrounding areas, often including nearby small villages. The term "union council" may be used for localities that are part of cities. The territory of a union council or village council is a component and subdivision of a tehsil (township).

Headed by a Union Nazim, each union council has 13 elected members or councillors. In addition to four male and two female members elected directly, there are two male and two female representatives of the labour, a minority member, a Union Nazim, and his deputy, known as Union Naib Nazim. Besides elected members, there are several government employees and functionaries in every union council, who report to the secretary of the union council. The latter is a civil servant appointed by the state. The addition of seats for minority members and special interests was implemented in part due to people not wanting to run for election when the union council system was first implemented.

Union councils perform numerous functions including levying taxes, building infrastructure, and acting as an alternative dispute resolution system.

Structure

Shown below is a simplified structure of the political hierarchy, the federal government governs the provinces (allocation of resources and policy decisions), the provinces govern the districts etc, the union councils are involved directly in local government administration.

Example

For example Abbottabad District in Khyber Pakhtunkwa province is made up of four tehsils: Abbottabad, Havelian, Lower Tanawal and Lora in this example only Lora and three of its Union Councils are shown

References

References

1. Baqir, F. (2007). UN Reforms and Civil Society Engagement. ''UNRCO, Islamabad''. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.539.3258&rep=rep1&type=pdf
2. Ziring, Lawrence. (1965). "The Administration of Basic Democracies: The Working of Democracy in a Muslim State". Islamic Studies.
3. (2014-01-01). "National Environmental Policy Development for Sustainable Economic Growth in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Pakistan". International Journal of Social Quality.
4. Khan, Muhammad. (2020). "Justice Delayed is Justice Denied: Access to Speedy Justice and Alternative Dispute Resolution System in Pakistan". Journal of Law and Social Policy.
5. [http://www.abbottabad.gov.pk District Government Abbottabad]
6. [https://web.archive.org/web/20250529024317/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/table_25_kp_districts.pdf Table 25 : HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS BY RESIDENTIAL STATUS, OWNERSHIP AND NUMBER OF ROOMS BY REGION]