Islamabad, (Parliament Times) : The Pakistan Development Alliance (PDA), in collaboration Partner Organization United Global Organization of Development (UGOOD) and Pakistan Federal Union of Journalist (PFUJ) with key civil society organizations, launched a Civil Society White Paper titled “Disempowered Capital: The State of Local Governance in Islamabad” at a media briefing held at the National Press Club, Islamabad, calling for the restoration of elected local government in the federal capital.
The event served as a critical platform to highlight the democratic and administrative crisis confronting the federal capital, which has remained without an elected local government since February 2021. Despite the legal mandate of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Local Government Act, 2015, and a decisive ruling by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) in June 2025, local government elections have been repeatedly postponed, effectively denying citizens their constitutional right to local representation for more than four years.
The White Paper provides a comprehensive review of the structural, fiscal, and legal impediments undermining democratic devolution in Islamabad. It documents how essential municipal functions continue to be controlled by unelected federal institutions-particularly the Capital Development Authority (CDA) with minimal oversight from the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), the legally designated local authority.
The paper reveals that in the fiscal years 2024-25 and 2025-26, approximately PKR 6 billion was allocated annually under block development schemes executed by the Ministry of Interior and CDA, without any direct fiscal allocation to the MCI. This reflects a clear marginalization of elected local governance structures. Moreover, despite the Islamabad High Court’s landmark judgment mandating the dissolution of CDA’s municipal role and the transfer of its assets, staff, and functions to MCI, the implementation remains stalled due to a pending appeal-further prolonging Islamabad’s status as a zone of bureaucratic control.
Key Civil Society Demands:
1. Immediate Implementation of the IHC Judgment (June 2025): Full enforcement of the directive to dissolve CDA’s municipal authority and transfer all relevant assets, personnel, and responsibilities to MCI.
2. Legislation for Fiscal Transfer Mechanism: Introduction of a formula-based fiscal transfer system akin to a Provincial Finance Commission (PFC) for ICT.
3. Amendments to the ICT Local Government Act, 2015: Strengthen provisions to ensure administrative autonomy, fixed electoral timelines, and participatory oversight mechanisms.
4. End to Parallel Execution Mechanisms: Prohibit federal ministries and the CDA from initiating local development projects without prior consultation and approval of MCI.
5. Revenue Empowerment of MCI: Enable MCI to collect property tax and other urban revenue instruments to build its financial independence.