MUZAFFARABAD: The Municipal Corporation Muzaffarabad on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with JS Bank to digitise its municipal operations and government payment services in a move aimed at improving service delivery and financial transparency.

The MoU was signed by JS Bank’s Government Digitisation Lead, Mohammad Farhan Akram, and MCM Chief Officer Sahibzada Zulfiqar Alam.Mayor Sikandar Nisar Gillani and other officials of the civic body were also present on the occasion.

Under the agreement, reached on the advice of Local Government and Rural Development Secretary Irshad Ahmed Qureshi, the bank will assist the civic body in digitising its operational workflows and introducing secure digital payment solutions for services offered to citizens.

In the first phase, digital payment facilities have been launched for civic services linked with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra), including the issuance of birth, death and marriage certificates.

Officials said citizens would now be able to pay the prescribed fees through digital channels, reducing the need for manual transactions and physical visits solely for fee submission.

The initiative is believed to help cut processing time by eliminating the need for manual payment handling and physical visits solely for fee submission, enhance operational efficiency and ensure greater financial transparency and accountability within the municipal corporation.

Representatives of both organisations described the agreement as the beginning of a broader digitisation roadmap, adding that more municipal services would gradually be integrated into the digital platform in the coming months.

They said the partnership reflected a shared commitment to modernising local governance and aligning municipal systems with the country’s wider digital transformation efforts, with the ultimate objective of delivering faster, more reliable, and more transparent services to citizens.

Published in Dawn, February 18th, 2026