Ruling PML-N backs proposal to give Islamabad provincial sta

Key Takeaways

• ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Islamabad chapter has fully endorsed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent proposal that Islam
• Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, who is the local MNA from Islamabad, told Dawn, “We ar
• ” Recently, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that despite paying all types of taxes, residents of Islamabad had no share in the NFC Award, which
• PML-N MNA Mr Nawaz said he was hopeful that Islamabad would have a provincial assembly
• Move may further delay local government elections as changes to laws, delimitation could be required “You know, only Excise and Taxation collects Rs20

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Islamabad chapter has fully endorsed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent proposal that Islamabad should be given provincial status.

Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, who is the local MNA from Islamabad, told Dawn, “We are not only backing the interior minister’s statement about Islamabad, but let me thank him, as provincial status for Islamabad is a longstanding demand of the residents of the capital city.”

Recently, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi stated that despite paying all types of taxes, residents of Islamabad had no share in the NFC Award, which was an injustice to them.

PML-N MNA Mr Nawaz said he was hopeful that Islamabad would have a provincial assembly.

Move may further delay local government elections as changes to laws, delimitation could be required

“You know, only Excise and Taxation collects Rs20 billion annually, which directly goes to Account A (the federal government’s kitty). Similarly, residents pay income tax, stamp duty, land transfer fees and many more taxes, while in return, they get nothing from the NFC Award,” he said.

The local MNA further said that without provincial status, the issues of Islamabad’s residents could not be addressed properly.

“In urban areas, the CDA, after selling its land, carries out development work. While for rural areas, we have to request the federal government for various packages and most of the time we remain unsuccessful. Therefore, an NFC share is the only solution,” he said.

Mr Nawaz said Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee under the supervision of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, which had already shared its recommendations with the premier, proposing the devolution of powers from the federation to the ICT as a federating unit.

Under these proposals, “we want a provincial-style government for Islamabad,” he said.

It is relevant to note that under the proposal, the Islamabad Assembly will have 27 members, 21 directly elected members, seven from each of the three NA constituencies, five women on reserved seats and one minority member.

The proposed assembly will elect a leader, who will be called chief minister or mayor and will serve as the chief executive, while the chief commissioner will be replaced with a chief secretary.

Mr Nawaz said that under the proposals, all departments would function under the assembly, except law and order and master planning, as these two functions would remain under the federal government.

Asked whether, if the government went ahead with the plan to provide provincial status to Islamabad, the ECP would have to carry out fresh delimitation, he said, “No issue. We don’t want to hold ineffective local government elections like those held in 2015-16. We want an efficient and vibrant system to resolve public issues.”

Amid the proposal, elections in Islamabad are likely to face further delay, as experts say that if the government goes ahead with the proposals, changes to the Local Government Act or its replacement with a new law, as well as amendments to the CDA Ordinance, would be required before fresh delimitation for the elections.

Therefore, the already announced local government delimitation process is likely to face a setback. Currently, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is carrying out delimitation and, according to its schedule, the election body is supposed to publish details of the final constituencies and Union Councils on October 14, 2026. The next step would be the announcement of the election schedule.

However, it now appears that the elections will face further delay.

The term of the last local government in Islamabad expired in February 2021, and since then elections have been delayed under various pretexts.

As a result, around 2.5 million residents of Islamabad continue to face issues ranging from water shortages to unpaved streets.

On several occasions, the federal government decided to hold elections only to cancel them later under various pretexts, mainly to “further strengthen” the Local Government Act for “better performance”.

Earlier, in January this year, President Asif Ali Zardari approved an ordinance that introduced several amendments to the Local Government Act 2015.

Besides replacing the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) with three town corporations, the ordinance gave the government-appointed administrator more powers and an indefinite tenure.

The new ordinance was introduced at a time when local government elections in Islamabad were scheduled to be held on February 15.

Thousands of people from all 125 Union Councils had already submitted nomination papers for the elections.

Meanwhile, the ordinance also stated that in the absence of a local government, the administrator could hold office until new local government elections were held, replacing the provision that the administrator’s tenure could not exceed six months.

The ordinance also empowered the administrator to levy taxes, fees, rates, rents, toll charges or surcharges.

It is relevant to note that when the election schedule was announced by the ECP in February 2026, the local chapter of the PTI had claimed that the government, fearing defeat, would opt for an escape route and not conduct the elections in February.

However, former PML-N deputy mayor Syed Zeeshan Ali Naqvi rejected the PTI’s claim, stating that the ordinance had been introduced for a better local government system in Islamabad and adding that the PML-N would win the elections.

When the local government’s term ended in 2021, the PTI was in power and elections were supposed to be held within 120 days.

However, the PTI government did not take serious steps to conduct the polls. When the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) came into power, it too delayed the elections, while the incumbent government has so far also failed to conduct them.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026

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ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s (PML-N) Islamabad chapter has fully endorsed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s recent proposal that Islamabad should be given provincial status....

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