New Islamabad Model Proposes 27-Member Assembly and Chief Minister

ISLAMABAD: As debate intensifies across Pakistan over the creation of new provinces and administrative units, a major governance restructuring has been proposed for the federal capital, potentially giving Islamabad its own elected assembly, chief executive and a substantially devolved administrative structure.

Under the proposed Islamabad Capital Territory Governance Model, a high-level committee has recommended establishing an Islamabad Capital Territory Government (ICTG) along with an elected Islamabad Capital Territory Assembly (ICTA).

According to the recommendations, the proposed assembly would comprise 27 members, including 21 directly elected representatives, five seats reserved for women and one seat for minorities.

The Election Commission of Pakistan would conduct elections for the proposed assembly, while Articles 62 and 63 of the Constitution would apply to its members. The proposal also envisages seven ICT Assembly constituencies corresponding to each National Assembly constituency in the capital.

Assembly to Elect Chief Executive

A significant element of the plan is the creation of an elected chief executive. The assembly would elect its leader, proposed to be designated as either Chief Minister or Mayor, who would serve as chief executive of the ICT Government and remain accountable to the elected assembly.

The proposed system would give Islamabad a governance structure resembling that of a province in several administrative respects. The recommendations state that the ICT Government should have administrative and financial autonomy comparable to a provincial government.

However, the proposal does not mean Islamabad is being made a province. Given its special status as the federal capital, law and order and master planning are proposed to remain under federal control. Other devolved administrative functions would operate under the ICT Government.

The proposed administrative structure envisages departments organised broadly on the pattern of provincial departments, although fewer in number and grouped under the Rules of Business. The wider proposal identifies 27 administrative departments, covering areas including health, education, environment, municipal services and other public-service functions.

The recommendations would also significantly reshape the role of the Capital Development Authority (CDA). Except for master planning, CDA functions are proposed to be transferred to the ICT Government, bringing functions currently dispersed among multiple capital institutions under a more integrated administrative structure.

Chief Secretary Structure Proposed

At the bureaucratic level, the existing Chief Commissioner arrangement is proposed to transition towards a Chief Secretary-led structure, supported by four secretaries overseeing different groups of departments.

Local government would continue at the Union Council level, but its functions would operate within the proposed ICT Government framework. Institutions established specifically for Islamabad would serve the entire territory rather than being restricted to its urban areas.

Implementation would require substantial legal restructuring. The committee has proposed a unified piece of legislation — the Islamabad Capital Territory Government Act 2026 — incorporating necessary provisions from existing local-government legislation and the CDA Ordinance, subject to the required constitutional amendment.

The recommendations further propose the formation of legislative, finance and transition committees after approval to draft the necessary laws, determine resource allocation and oversee the shift from the existing administrative structure.

The governance committee was chaired by Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. Its members included Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah, Federal Minister Musadik Malik, alongside senior officials from the Cabinet, Interior, Finance, Health and Education divisions and the leadership of the ICT administration/CDA.

The committee’s original terms of reference included examining international capital-city governance models, assessing the capacity of Islamabad’s administration, preparing a transition plan, reviewing the capital’s local-government legislation and proposing a governance structure offering administrative and financial autonomy.

The recommendations represent a proposed blueprint rather than a final change in Islamabad’s constitutional or administrative status. The model will require approval at the relevant government level and subsequent constitutional and legislative measures before it can take effect.

If approved and implemented, the restructuring could mark one of the most extensive changes to the capital’s governance system, replacing the existing fragmented institutional arrangement with an elected territorial government while preserving direct federal authority over strategically important capital functions.