ISLAMABAD is growing rapidly. Its planning, however, remains stuck in bureaucratic limbo. Despite years of discussion and attempts to constitute a commission tasked with updating the capital’s master plan, the process has scarcely moved forward. The delay is difficult to justify. While the federal government and the Capital Development Authority deserve credit for pursuing major development projects, physical expansion without a coherent long-term vision risks creating problems that will be far more difficult and costly to resolve later. The capital today bears little resemblance to the city envisaged by its original planners. Population growth, housing demand and the expansion of built-up areas have transformed Islamabad’s landscape. The city’s developed area has expanded dramatically over the past three decades, while legal and illegal housing schemes have proliferated. Yet the framework meant to guide this growth has been altered through dozens of piecemeal amendments rather than a comprehensive review. While such an approach may address immediate pressures, it cannot substitute for strategic planning. The result is growing uncertainty over land use, environmental protection and development.
The consequences are particularly evident in Zone III and other sensitive areas where construction restrictions, weak regulation and competing claims have created confusion. At the same time, Islamabad faces challenges linked to water scarcity, urban flooding and the protection of its green spaces. These issues will not be resolved through ad hoc decisions. They require a modern master plan grounded in expert input and informed by current realities. The original planners recommended periodic revisions precisely because cities evolve. Islamabad has evolved, but its planning framework has not kept pace. The government should end the delay, notify the commission without further procedural wrangling and begin the work of preparing a blueprint that can guide the capital’s development for the decades ahead.
Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2026
