Islamabad residents are anxiously waiting for a government of their own, like people in many developed capitals, where local issues are handled under a single elected and accountable political system. For decades, residents of the federal capital have been looking for a platform that can address their civic, political and administrative issues under one roof.
Islootees wait for a political voice of their own
By Bahadur Ali Khan
ISLAMABAD, Aug 11 (APP)::Islamabad residents are anxiously waiting for a government of their own, like people in many developed capitals, where local issues are handled under a single elected and accountable political system. For decades, residents of the federal capital have been looking for a platform that can address their civic, political and administrative issues under one roof.
In June 2026, a government committee led by Federal Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal presented Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with the ICT Governance Model, proposing a 27-member elected assembly for Islamabad. The proposed body would have 21 directly elected members, five reserved seats for women and one for minorities. It would then choose its own Chief Minister or Mayor, a political leader who would finally be answerable to the people of the capital.
Right now, Islamabad is run by three separate federal bodies, none of which answers directly to the public. The Capital Development Authority (CDA) builds and manages the city. The ICT Administration, headed by an unelected Chief Commissioner, handles law and order, revenue and the surrounding rural areas.
The Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (MCI) is supposed to be the municipal body, but has not held fresh elections since 2015. Since none of these institutions is elected by Islamabad’s residents, even a local tax cannot be approved here. It has to go to the National Assembly because the capital has no legislature of its own. Ahsan Iqbal himself highlighted this gap while addressing residents at Fatima Jinnah Park, noting that Islamabad’s population has crossed 2.4 million, far beyond what the existing system was designed to handle.
Islamabad’s political voice is also unusually weak. It has only three members in the National Assembly, out of more than 300 seats nationwide. Laws specifically affecting the capital are passed by MNAs elected from across the country, most of whom do not live here and are not directly accountable to its residents. A resident of any province has a provincial assembly to make local laws. Islamabad residents do not.
This gap reached the courts in 2023 when lawyer S. M. Yawar Abbas filed a petition in the Islamabad High Court seeking a proper assembly for the capital, similar to Delhi’s. In December 2024, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani closed the case with an important observation: Islamabad needed its own legislative assembly to protect citizens’ rights, and the federal government should engage political stakeholders on a possible constitutional amendment. The order is widely seen as the push that led to the ICT Governance Model report 18 months later. Yawar also won a separate case forcing Islamabad police to stop hiring only candidates with domiciles from other provinces. The case highlighted another gap, unlike every province, Islamabad has no Public Service Commission of its own, leaving its residents to compete for federal jobs without a local quota.
The roots of Islamabad’s present system lie in the Constitution itself. Article 258 places responsibility for the capital’s government with the President and gives Parliament, rather than any province, the power to legislate for it. Article 142(d) reinforces this by giving Parliament full law-making authority over territories such as Islamabad that are not provinces. Presidential Order No. 18 of 1980 then created the system still in place, putting Islamabad under a federally appointed Administrator, later renamed Chief Commissioner. The post has never been elected in its 46-year history.
Under the new plan, the Islamabad Capital Territory Government would receive powers similar to those of a province, taking full responsibility for health, education, environment and public services. A single new law would replace the scattered rules currently divided among the CDA, ICT Administration and MCI. Law and order and the city’s master planning, however, would remain with the federal government because Islamabad is home to Parliament, the Supreme Court, the diplomatic enclave and the offices of the president and prime minister.
The proposal draws on two models: Delhi, which has had an elected assembly and Chief Minister since 1991 while keeping police and land under central control; and London, where an elected Mayor and 25-member Assembly oversee transport, housing and planning without full state-level lawmaking powers. Islamabad’s proposed system combines elements of both. Unlike Delhi and London, however, the capital currently has neither an elected assembly nor an elected chief executive.
For Islamabad’s 2.4 million residents, the proposed system would mean leaders they can vote out and hold accountable, rather than federal ministries or an unelected official. But the change would also reduce the direct control of the CDA, ICT Administration and federal ministries. Political parties are already looking at the proposed 27 seats as a new political prize.
