Islamabad, August 12, 2025 – Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Human Rights Cell Secretary General Malaika Raza, while addressing a seminar in Islamabad, said that the capital has been deprived of a local government system for several years, leaving citizens without direct representation and the right to participate in decision-making at the grassroots level.

She said the last local government elections in Islamabad were held in 2015, and no fresh polls have been conducted since then, which is a clear violation of the Constitution and democratic principles.

Malaika Raza stressed that the decentralisation of power is the only way to strengthen democracy, as local governments are more accountable and accessible to the public, enabling faster and more effective problem-solving. Citing Article 37 of the Constitution, she said the state cannot be considered fully functional without elected local representatives.

She lamented that Islamabad has unfortunately become a “disempowered capital” where citizens have no effective means of participating directly in decision-making. She demanded that women’s participation in the local government structure be ensured by having two deputy mayors alongside the mayor, with one of the deputy mayor positions reserved for a woman.

Highlighting that Islamabad has no reserved seats for women in the National Assembly, she said that greater female representation in local body elections should be ensured to fill this gap.

She warned that bringing in technocrats or non-local individuals into committees and local body positions—who have little understanding of local issues—would only lead to a waste of resources and make the system more ineffective.

The PPP leader called on the government to hold transparent and independent local government elections in Islamabad immediately so that citizens can elect their own representatives, women can be given greater representation, and local resources remain in the hands of local people.