ISLAMABAD: A parliamentary panel on Monday directed the Ministry of Interior to engage local experts, town planners and reputable firms for the timely finalisation of Islamabad’s master plan.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Interior met at Parliament House with Raja Khurram Shahzad Nawaz in the chair.

The chairman of the CDA briefed the committee and said a summary had been moved to the federal cabinet for formation of the master plan commission.

The previously formed commission had directed hiring of international consultants for the revision of the master plan.

Summary moved to federal cabinet for formation of master plan commission, CDA informs committee

The committee expressed displeasure over hiring of international firms, considering it wastage of taxpayers’ money.

The chair emphasised that the Ministry of Interior should engage local professional experts to ensure timely completion of the master plan.

Doxiadis Associates, a Greece-based firm that prepared the master plan in 1960, had recommended its revision after every 20 years in accordance with the needs of time.

However, successive governments did not bother to make proper revision rather kept focusing on selective changes without any input from professionals, resulting into poor planning in the capital city.

So far, over 50 major changes have been made to the master plan and the incumbent government also made at least seven changes to it last month without getting any input from experts.

In the new changes, at least three sectors have been excluded from Zone I of Islamabad and made residential sectors after changing their original status of half green and half for institutions.

Meanwhile, the committee also expressed displeasure about the imposition of heavy fees on unregistered vehicles and directed the Ministry of Interior to ensure not only the cancellation of the notification dated August 2, 2024 but also refund of the collected amounts to the public in line with the committee’s previous recommendations.

Furthermore, the committee recommended a one-time relaxation for new registrations and a token late fee for three months.

The ministry was directed to consult the relevant departments and stakeholders to revisit the increased slabs and formulate a standardised registration fee structure.

Meanwhile, the director general FIA was directed to brief the committee on the government’s current policy and strategies for addressing human trafficking cases.

The chair directed the DG chief to present a legislative draft for stricter punishments for agents involved in human trafficking and to fix responsibility on FIA officials and officers found complicit in such cases.

Meanwhile, the committee considered the ‘Naturalisation (Amendment) Bill 2024’ (sections 3-9, 11 & 12) and “The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2024” moved by Syeda Nosheen Iftikhar, MNA, and recommended that the bills be passed by the National Assembly.

The committee also reviewed ‘The Pakistan Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2024’ (section 14A) (Government Bill), “Pakistan Land Port Authority Bill 2024’ and “The Criminal Law (Amendment) Bill 2024” (section 498 AA) moved by MNA Sofia Saeed Shah and deferred them to the next meeting.

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2025