Islamabad chamber to press provincial status at convention today

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) will hold a convention in the federal capital on Friday to press for provincial status and a more accountable governance structure, with Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi attending as chief guest.

The event, titled "Islamabad Governance and Provincial Status Convention 2026," will bring together trade associations, bar councils, civil society groups, academics, professional bodies and residents, along with representatives of major political parties and relevant institutions, according to ICCI President Sardar Tahir Mehmood. He said the purpose is to examine the city's governance challenges and develop practical proposals rather than proceed with a predetermined solution.

Mehmood said Islamabad remains governed under a framework introduced in 1960, when the federal capital was still in its formative stage. With the population approaching 2.5 million, he said, the administrative, economic, urban and public-service demands have changed fundamentally. Residents do not have an effective elected forum to hold authorities accountable for sanitation, water supply, traffic, infrastructure and municipal services, and overlapping responsibilities among multiple federal and administrative institutions have made lines of authority unclear.

The ICCI president noted that Islamabad has had no elected mayor since 2021. "Islamabad needs more than a mayor; it needs a chief executive elected by the people and answerable to their representatives," he said. He also called for a transparent legal and fiscal framework reflecting the capital's population, administrative responsibilities, service-delivery obligations and development requirements. While Islamabad generates revenue through taxes, fees and economic activity, he said, decisions about the capital should not be made without the participation of those who live, work and invest there.

Mehmood said the chamber would maintain its apolitical character throughout the process, not supporting or opposing any political party and not promoting any particular governance model. "We want all stakeholders to sit together, hear one another and contribute to a meaningful roadmap for Islamabad's future," he said. He described the convention as a collective civic initiative and expressed hope that it would open the way for a continuing, structured dialogue on Islamabad's governance.