ISLAMABAD:
The government on Thursday pushed through a bill in the National Assembly providing for party-less local government (LG) elections in Islamabad in the face of opposition ridicule.
However, the fate of the bill envisaging creation of a metropolitan corporation for the Islamabad Capital Territory, to be elected by members of new union councils, seems uncertain as opposition parties dominate the Senate and can block its adoption there in the present shape.
The government accepted several amendments proposed by the opposition PPP to the Islamabad Capital Territory Local Government Bill, such as specifying the minimum representation on the metropolitan corporation for women (33 per cent), peasants/workers, non-Muslims and youth (5pc each) and technocrats (2pc).