The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior on Thursday approved the Islamabad Local Government Ordinance Bill 2026, with the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmakers opposing the move.
The bill was passed after a vote in which 12 committee members participated. Eight members backed the legislation, while four PPP members voted against it.
PPP lawmaker Abdul Qadir Patel said his party would formally record its objections by submitting a dissenting note.
During the proceedings, he argued that local government elections would not take place in either Islamabad or Punjab under the proposed arrangement.
Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry rejected what he described as broad assertions by the PPP leader and advised him to base his criticism on facts. He pointed out that Islamabad had recently experienced heavy rainfall but, according to him, no fatalities had been reported.
Under the proposed changes, the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) would be replaced by three town corporations. Each corporation would have its own mayor, deputy mayors and council.
The ordinance would also expand the authority of the government-appointed administrator and allow the official to remain in office without a fixed time limit.
The latest legislation follows an ordinance approved by President Asif Ali Zardari in January 2026, which amended the Islamabad Local Government Act 2015.
The earlier ordinance led to the postponement of Islamabad’s local government elections, originally scheduled for February 15, 2026. Candidates from all 125 union councils had already filed their nomination papers before the polls were delayed.
