Empowering cities requires devolving real power to councils

The Return of Local Government

Muzamil opens by introducing Afzal Khan, vice chairman of Union Council 29 in Islamabad. Local government in Pakistan has experienced a fractured history. Empowered in the 1960s and again in 2001, each iteration was dismantled. After five years without local bodies, elections returned in 2015, mandated by the Constitution. “In my living memory, to be very honest, this is the first time,” Afzal says, noting that the last elections were in 1979.

Ward Councillor Elected

Afzal’s journey began almost accidentally. In 2015, he stood as a ward councillor for F10-2 and won. Then, in November 2019, when the sitting vice chairman became a senator, Afzal was elected unopposed to lead the entire union council. His constituency now comprises 35,000 people across six wards. The role carries broad responsibilities. “Basically, our functions which is mentioned in the Islamabad ICT Local Government Act 2015,” Afzal explains. Environment, sanitation, water supply, roads, and emergency relief all fall under his purview. Yet authority without resources creates paralysis.

Street Lights and Libraries

Despite constraints, Afzal delivered results. When elected, he surveyed his ward and found street lighting neglected for over a decade. In 2018, he secured approval for LED replacements in F10-2. “Not a single light is off,” he recalls with pride. He also transformed an abandoned library in F11 into Islamabad’s first QR code-based library through partnership with the British Council. These projects were small, but they proved that grassroots leadership could move the needle.

Community Over Bureaucracy

Afzal’s real innovation was direct engagement. He created a WhatsApp group connecting residents, local officials, and police leadership. When robberies spiked in F10, the group became a direct line to action. “If you have a community in touch, if you have built a network with people, you have kept a connection with people,” he reflects. He organized a public hearing with Islamabad’s top police officers and three provincial lawmakers. Muzamil recognizes the insight: when bureaucracy fails, direct democracy can work.

CDA Versus MCI: A Fractured System

Yet every success masks a structural flaw. Islamabad is governed by three bodies: the ICT administration, the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI), and the Capital Development Authority (CDA). CDA, created in 1960, was supposed to be replaced by MCI under the 2015 framework. It never happened. CDA resisted; unions sued. Today both operate in parallel, each claiming authority. “Basically, the plan was that MCI was not supposed to take over. It was made an organization, but it didn’t try to empower it,” Afzal says. Muzamil sees it clearly: a “toothless authority” with Supreme Court backing but no real power.

Bottom-Up Budgeting Works

Afzal argues the solution is structural devolution. When the federal government offered union councils funding to propose their own priorities, he drafted a list of real needs. Water filtration. A library. A sports arena. The contrast with top-down projects is stark. “When there is a bottom-up approach, when there is a lot of money, it seems to be related to the people’s needs,” he explains. “Because there is a person in the federal government who has the idea of making a skyscraper. And he has started it. He asked, now all the funds are diverted on it.” This is the crux: local leaders know what their communities need, but they cannot act.

Local Government as Leadership Nursery

Afzal raises a critical point Muzamil has explored before. Pakistan lacks a pipeline for political leadership. Student unions, once incubators for talent, have faded. Local government offers an alternative. Entry barriers are low. Stakes are low. A young person can run for a ward council, learn the work, and progress. “Definitely,” Afzal insists. “That’s why you see, if you’re only in Islamabad who have worked for five years, you’ll be surprised how they’ve learned politically, public dealing, government structure.” Former local councillors have become provincial lawmakers. As Afzal prepares for his next election, Muzamil asks if he will run again. “Local government is always going to be my first job,” he says. “But I would love to play a more meaningful role in the local government.” For that to happen, Pakistan’s fractured governance structure must be fixed.