Pak Govt amends LG Bill amidst opposition uproar

Pakistan's National Assembly on Friday adopted the Islamabad Capital Territory(ICT) Local Government Amendment Act, 2016, which provides for an increase in the number of deputy mayor seats in the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation from one to three.

Amid opposition's uproar, the bill primarily aimed to give legal cover to the recent local government elections in Islamabad was approved by the lower house of Parliament, reports Dawn.

The original ICT Local Government Act 2015 only allows for one deputy mayor.

The three deputy mayors ,all from the PML-N, have already been elected and the passage of this bill will give them legal cover.

Further,the legislation will be tabled before the opposition-dominated upper house of the Parliament for a vote before final endorsement from the President of Pakistan.

Opposition lawmakers from the Pakistan spoke against the bill, alleging that the government is bulldozing unanimously adopted legislation through unilaterally-introduced amendments.