June 17, 2007	Sunday	Jumadi-us-Sani 01, 1428

ISLAMABAD, June 16: An opposition member of the National Assembly from the federal capital has sought the provincial status to Islamabad on the pattern of New Delhi to end what he called injustices being meted out with the residents of the city.

People’s Party Parliamentarians (PPP) MNA from capital Syed Nayyar Hussain Bokhari floated the idea of giving provincial status to Islamabad while taking part in the debate on the Federal Budget in the National Assembly on Friday.

He had demanded setting up of a state assembly for Islamabad with full powers of legislation and having its own chief minister and governor.

“If New Delhi could have its own state assembly then why not Islamabad,”, said MNA Bukhari when contacted.

He said that he would also raise the issue in the Central Executive Committee (CEC) of the party to make it a part of its election manifesto. Mr Bokhari regretted that the administrative and development affairs of the federal capital were in the hands of bureaucrats and the Capital Development Authority (CDA).

The PPP MNA said that affairs of the Islamabad were not being run by the elected representatives and it was a violation of the basic rights of the residents of the city under the constitution.

He said it had been given the in the preamble of the Constitution of 1973 that “the state shall exercise its powers and authority through the chosen representatives of the people.” He, however, regretted that the residents of Islamabad were not even provided an opportunity to elect their local government representatives like other parts of the country.

The MNA said that presently Islamabad was represented by only two elected representatives in the 342-member house and, therefore, they could not play any role for the welfare of the residents of the city. Mr Bokhari also called for allocation of job quota for those having domicile of Islamabad as the citizens of other provinces had their job quota in the federal capital.

Responding to a question, he said, there was a need to amend the constitution to give provincial status to Islamabad. He said whenever the PPP would come into power with a two-third majority, he would ask the party to amend the constitution for this purpose.