Islamabad: The Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PMLN) Islamabad chapter has endorsed Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s proposal to give Islamabad provincial status, adding political weight to a debate over how the capital should be governed.
PMLN MNA Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz, who chairs the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior, said provincial status was a longstanding demand of Islamabad residents. He also expressed hope that the capital would eventually have its own provincial assembly.
Under the proposal, Islamabad would have a 27 member assembly, including 21 directly elected members, five women on reserved seats and one minority member. The assembly would elect a chief executive, who could be called chief minister or mayor, while the office of chief commissioner would be replaced by a chief secretary.
Most departments would come under the proposed assembly, although law and order and master planning would remain with the federal government. The proposal is linked to demands for a share in the National Finance Commission (NFC) award, with Mr Nawaz arguing that Islamabad residents pay substantial taxes but do not receive an NFC share.
The proposal, however, comes as Pakistan is already debating the creation of new provinces and administrative units. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has opposed the move in principle and said new provinces must be created through the constitutional and parliamentary process. Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf (PTI) Chairman Gohar Ali Khan has also warned against what he described as a hasty approach to creating new provinces.
The proposed change could also affect Islamabad’s long delayed local government elections. The Election Commission is currently conducting delimitation, with final constituency and Union Council details scheduled for publication on October 14. However, legal and administrative changes could be required if the provincial style arrangement moves forward, potentially delaying the process again.
Islamabad has been without an elected local government since the previous administration’s term expired in February 2021. Since then, successive governments have postponed elections while changing the legal framework governing the capital.
The debate therefore goes beyond the question of provincial status. For Islamabad’s roughly 2.5 million residents, the immediate test is whether another change in the capital’s governing structure will bring elected representation and better services, or further postpone both.
