Islamabad to get its own 27-member assembly, chief executive under proposed governance overhaul

• Law and order and master planning to remain under Centre.
• New assembly to be formed through Act of Parliament.
• Cabinet approval required before legislation in Parliament.

ISLAMABAD: A high-level committee has presented Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif with a draft proposal to establish a 27-member elected assembly for Islamabad Capital Territory, complete with a chief executive and 27 administrative departments, sources told Truth Wireon Sunday.

The draft, prepared by a committee headed by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal and comprising Federal Ministers Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, Musadik Malik and Rana Sanaullah, Minister of State Talal Chaudhry, both National Assembly members from Islamabad and the Interior Secretary, proposes establishing a formal Islamabad Capital Territory Government with its own elected legislature.

The draft — a copy of which is available with Truth Wire — recommends that the Islamabad Capital Territory Assembly consist of 27 members — 21 directly elected by the public, five reserved seats for women and one for minorities.

Each constituency of the National Assembly would have seven corresponding constituencies for the Islamabad assembly.

The Election Commission of Pakistan would conduct elections for the assembly, and all members would be subject to Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution.

The assembly would elect its own leader, to be designated as chief minister or mayor, who would serve as Chief Executive of the Islamabad Capital Territory Government and be accountable to the elected assembly.

Departments and functions

The draft proposes that 27 government departments function under the new Islamabad Capital Territory Government, with health, education, environment and municipal services falling under the jurisdiction of local government.

Law and order and master planning would remain under the federal government, to be exercised through the relevant federal minister or a governor of the ICT.

All functions of the Capital Development Authority, except master planning, would be transferred to the new Islamabad government. Union Councils would form the sole tier of local government under the new structure, working with the Local Government Department of the territory government.

A chief secretary — currently the chief commissioner — and four secretaries heading groups of departments would continue to function, with law and order and master planning departments reporting to the federal minister or governor through the chief secretary.

Legislative path

Sources said the new governance framework would be established through an Act of Parliament rather than a constitutional amendment, with the proposed legislation to be titled the Islamabad Capital Territory Government Act 2026.

It would consolidate provisions of the ICT Local Act 2015 and the Capital Development Authority Ordinance 1960 into a single unified law.

The draft will first be presented to the federal cabinet for approval, after which legislation will be introduced in both the Senate and the National Assembly.

Once approved, a legislative committee comprising the Law Minister, one Islamabad MNA, the Secretary Law, Secretary Interior, CDA Chairman and co-opted members would be constituted to draft the required law.

The Islamabad Capital Territory Government would have full administrative and financial autonomy on the pattern of a provincial government, and all institutions already working or to be set up for ICT would function across the entire territory — not limited to urban areas — under the new government.