The union councils of Pakistan ( ur, ), referred to as village councils in villages, are an elected

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

body consisting of 21 councillors, and headed by a

Nazim Subahdar, also known as Nazim or in English as a "Subah", was one of the designations of a governor of a Subah (province) during the Khalji dynasty of Bengal, Mamluk dynasty (Delhi), Khalji dynasty, Tughlaq dynasty, Mughal era ( of India who w ...

which is equivalent to a mayor or chairperson and a Naib Nazib (vice chairperson). As of 2007, there are 5,375 rural union councils across 115 districts. They form the third-tier of

and fifth tier overall. Its structure and responsibilities differ between provinces and territories.

Administration

Union councils are the primary governmental institution in Pakistan, Union Councils 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 usually part of a

Tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

(county). Less commonly, a Union Council may be part of a

City District A City district is a designated administrative division that is generally managed by a local government. It is used to divide a city into several administrative units. City districts are used in Russia (raion), Pakistan and Croatia ( hr, gradsk ...

. 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. Beside 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.

References

{{reflist Local government in Pakistan