ICCI to Convene Citywide Convention on Islamabad’s Governance and Provincial Status on Sept 25
The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry will hold a citywide convention on Sept 25 to seek consensus on governance reforms and a clearer fiscal framework for the federal capital.
Islamabad’s business community is organising a wide-ranging consultation to push for changes to the federal capital’s governance and fiscal framework, citing mounting service-delivery challenges as the city grows. The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has scheduled the “Islamabad Governance and Provincial Status Convention 2026” for September 25 to gather proposals and build a common roadmap.
Why the convention matters
ICCI president Sardar Tahir Mehmood highlighted that Islamabad still operates under a 1960 ordinance created when the capital was sparsely populated, but the city now approaches a population of about 2.5 million. He told the press the current arrangement fails to address daily issues such as sanitation, water supply, traffic management, infrastructure, taxation and other municipal services.
The chamber pointed to unclear lines of accountability caused by overlapping federal and administrative institutions and limited powers for National Assembly members on key local matters. The absence of an elected mayor since 2021 has been cited as further evidence of weaknesses in the existing local government system.
Objectives and participants
ICCI intends the convention to be inclusive: bringing together the business community, trade associations, bar councils, civil society, academia, professionals and residents, as well as political representatives from major parties. The chamber has framed the event as apolitical and aimed at producing practical, consensus-based recommendations.
Sardar Tahir Mehmood has called for stronger local executive leadership and clearer finances for the capital, arguing that “Islamabad needs more than a mayor” and urging a transparent legal and fiscal formula proportional to the city’s population and responsibilities. The convention will review different governance models and legal proposals while seeking broad stakeholder input.
ICCI has invited active participation from Islamabad’s stakeholders to ensure the consultation is broad-based and results-oriented, with the goal of producing actionable proposals to guide reform of the capital’s administrative and financial arrangements.