Capital LG polls caught in limbo - again

Islamabad’s local government elections have been thrown into uncertainty again after the ordinance governing the capital’s local government system expired on September 6.

At the same time, a high-level committee has submitted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif a proposal to establish a separate Islamabad Capital Territory Assembly. The draft calls for a 27-member body, including 21 members elected directly by voters, five seats reserved for women and one for minorities.

The assembly would be created through an Act of Parliament rather than a constitutional amendment. The proposal envisions an Islamabad Assembly, a chief executive and 27 administrative departments. It also calls for a chief secretary and four secretaries to oversee the capital’s administration.

Under the draft, health, education, environmental affairs and civic services would move under local government control. Law and order and Islamabad’s master planning would remain with the federal government. The proposal also seeks to streamline the capital’s fragmented administration by transferring the Capital Development Authority’s powers and functions to the ICT government and reallocating other institutional responsibilities under the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Act, 2015.