The federal cabinet has approved another postponement of the scheduled local government elections in Islamabad, resulting in further delay to the local electoral process in the federal capital.
A brief meeting of the federal cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, during which decisions taken in the Cabinet Committee on Legislative Affairs meetings held on December 3 and December 30 were formally ratified.
According to sources, the cabinet meeting discussed new legislation related to local government elections in the federal capital, while the Chief Commissioner of Islamabad provided a detailed briefing to the cabinet on the matter.
Sources said that after reviewing the briefing by the Chief Commissioner, the federal cabinet approved postponing the local government elections in Islamabad once again, making it impossible to proceed under the existing schedule.
The sources further stated that the cabinet also approved legislation to introduce a Punjab-style local government system in Islamabad, paving the way for structural changes in the local governance framework.
It is worth recalling that the Election Commission had earlier set February 15 as the date for local government elections in Islamabad, with results scheduled to be compiled between February 16 and February 19; however, the process has now been deferred once again.
