The Rawalpindi Cantonment Board has set up a huge clock at Telegraph Chowk, Mall Road. Photo: AGHA MAHROZ/EXPRESS
RAWALPINDI:
Despite an order by the Rawalpindi Bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC), the interim notification for the cantonment boards is yet to be issued even after a lapse of 16 days instead of the stipulated five.
The elected public representatives have completed their four-year term and are therefore inactive, while the date of elections in the 44 cantonment boards of the country has also not been announced. In its absence, citizens face difficulties in resolving routine civic issues.
The Department of Military Lands and Cantonments dissolved all 44 cantonment boards, including those in Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi, on November 11, 2025, at the end of their four-year tenure, and issued written directives to all Regional Directors of the MLC to establish an interim structure through the respective executive directors by November 26, 2025.
However, following a writ petition filed by the Vice President and the elected members of Rawalpindi-Wah Cantonment, the Rawalpindi bench of the LHC disposed of the petition on December 23, 2025 and ruled that the expired four-year term of the elected members could not be extended. The court ordered the government to notify the administrator in charge of the facility within five business days.
Despite the court order, no notification regarding the custody agreement has been issued in the cantonment boards of the country till date. According to cantonment board sources, a letter has been sent to the federal government and the notification will be issued after the approval of the federal cabinet.
Currently, the situation has left the cantonment boards without an elected body (which becomes inactive upon expiration of its term) or an interim institution as ordered by the court. There is also no clarity on when new elections will be held.
In the absence of elected representatives, citizens are struggling with routine issues such as verification of complaints about street lighting, sanitation, encroachments, building plans, taxes and issuance of birth and death certificates, tasks for which they previously depended on elected members.
The offices designated for the vice president and elected members in Rawalpindi and Chaklala cantonments have been closed and their verification authority withdrawn.
Citizens have urged that an interim system be established without delay so that, until fresh elections are held, a designated civilian and a designated government member in each cantonment board can facilitate the resolution of civic issues.
