Ruling PML-N backs proposal to give Islamabad provincial status

Ruling PML-N backs proposal to offer Islamabad provincial status.

Key points

• Kashif Abbasi Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 08: 44am.
• Earlier, in January this year, President Asif Ali Zardari approved an ordinance that introduced a number of amendments to the Local Administration Act 2015.
• 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.
• Mr Nawaz remarked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee under the supervision of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal.

Kashif Abbasi Published September 8, 2026 Updated September 8, 2026 08: 44am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

Chairperson of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz. This person is the local MNA from Islamabad, informed 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."

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

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

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

"You know, only Excise and Taxation collects Rs20 billion annually. It directly goes to Account A (the federal government's kitty). While in return, they secure nothing from the NFC Award, " he noted, similarly, residents pay income tax, stamp duty, land transfer fees and plenty of more taxes.

According to The local MNA further, without provincial status, the matters of Islamabad's residents could not be addressed properly.

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

Mr Nawaz remarked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had formed a committee under the supervision of Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. It 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 remarked.

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.

For context, the proposed assembly will elect a leader. This person 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.

According to Mr Nawaz, 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 administration.

Asked whether, if the administration went ahead with the plan to provide provincial status to Islamabad, the ECP would have to carry out fresh delimitation, he stated, "No matter. We don't want to hold ineffective local administration elections like those held in 2015-16. We want an efficient and vibrant system to resolve public problems."

As experts say that if the administration goes ahead with the proposals, changes to the Local Administration 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, against the backdrop of the proposal, elections in Islamabad are probable to face further delay.

Therefore, the already confirmed local administration delimitation process is projected to face a setback. At present, 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. Nevertheless, it now appears that the elections will face further delay.

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

Consequently, around 2.5 million residents of Islamabad continue to face problems ranging from water shortages to unpaved streets.

On a number of occasions, the federal administration decided to hold elections only to cancel them afterwards under various pretexts, mainly to "further strengthen" the Local Administration Act for "better performance".

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

In practice, the new ordinance was introduced at a time when local administration elections in Islamabad were scheduled to be held on February 15.

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

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

In practice, the ordinance additionally empowered the administrator to levy taxes, fees, rates, rents, toll charges or surcharges.

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

Nevertheless, 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 administration system in Islamabad and adding that the PML-N would win the elections.

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

Nevertheless, the PTI administration did not take serious steps to conduct the polls. While the incumbent administration has so far additionally failed to conduct them, when the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) came into power, it too delayed the elections. Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2026.

Kashif Ali Abbasi is an Islamabad-based reporter for Dawn with 17 years of experience in journalism. He covers sports, the education sector, and civic problems. He can be discovered on X at @AbbasiKashif833.

For now, ruling PML-N backs proposal to give Islamabad provincial status remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.