ISLAMABAD – Islamabad’s streets could look different in years to come, as Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced plans to move overhead electricity infrastructure underground as part of a wider push to upgrade the capital and reclaim occupied government land.
Naqvi said the initiative would be undertaken in coordination with Islamabad Electric Supply Company IESCO, setting target to remove electricity poles across Islamabad. However, the announcement has yet to be backed by publicly established funding arrangements, a detailed technical plan or an implementation schedule.
During a visit to Malpur and Bhara Kahu, the minister received a briefing from the CDA chairman and Islamabad deputy commissioner on alleged encroachments. He ordered action to recover state property and warned that accountability would extend to officials who allowed illegal occupation to continue. CDA personnel who facilitated or ignored encroachments, he said, were equally responsible alongside the occupiers.
Naqvi put the number of illegal housing societies in Islamabad at approximately 150, mentioning Ghori Town. The figure remains attributed to the minister rather than an independently verified assessment of each society. He also highlighted government land allegedly occupied for decades, with some encroachments reportedly stretching back 30 years or more.
The proposed transformation also includes museums. Those land figures show substantially different areas: 108 kanals equals 13.5 acres, while 150 acres amounts to 1,200 kanals. One account places the larger museum site beside the smaller parcel, making it premature to describe both as a single confirmed project.
Naqvi also announced plans to upgrade G-6, G-7, G-9 and G-10, bringing some of Islamabad’s older residential sectors into the proposed overhaul.
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