NA panel approves bill seeking changes to Islamabad’s local governance

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday approved the Islamabad Local Government Ordinance Bill 2026, despite opposition from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP).

Twelve members of the panel were present when the committee voted on the bill, with eight voting in favour and four PPP members voting against it.

Speaking on the occasion, PPP leader Abdul Qadir Patel said that his party would submit a dissenting note.

Opposing the bill, the PPP leader said that local government elections would be held neither in Islamabad nor in Punjab.

For his part, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that Patel should not make sweeping statements and urged him to discuss the matter based on facts.

He maintained that Islamabad had recently received heavy rains, but no loss of life had been reported.

Patel said Karachi is a city of 45 million people that provides them with employment.

MQM-P lawmaker Khawaja Izharul Hasan said Karachi did not belong to anyone. The committee chairman said it would be better to keep the political debate outside the House and ended the agenda.

The federal cabinet has already approved the draft of the amended bill, sources told Truth Wire. The Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) will be divided into three entities, each having a mayor, deputy mayors and a council.

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

President Asif Ali Zardari had approved an ordinance in January this year, introducing several amendments to the Local Government Act 2015.

The promulgation of the ordinance caused the postponement of the Islamabad Local Government elections, which were to be held on February 15, 2026. Thousands of people from all 125 union councils had already submitted their nomination papers.