Islamabad, often hailed as the second most beautiful capital in the world, especially on social media, is nothing short of heaven for the bureaucracy and those living on the right side of Margalla Road and also those fortunate enough to hold exclusive memberships at Islamabad Club.
For these elites, life in the capital means sprawling 700-yard houses, walking distance away from the Kohsar Market in the plush F-6 sector, manicured gardens with lush tree-lined streets, parks, playgrounds, green number plate with black-tinted government cars, house staff, and an influential social circle. The city serves only these privileged few.
But for those not so privileged, there is a serious housing crisis, one that continues to spiral out of control.
The unchecked growth of guest houses in residential areas and Airbnbs in apartment buildings has driven rents to astronomical levels. A one-bedroom apartment in the F-sectors now costs between Rs65,000 and Rs75,000, while in E-11, rents hover between Rs45,000 and Rs65,000. Even basic hostels, offering clean food and laundry, demand between Rs30,000 and Rs40,000 per month.
Homeowners increasingly prefer renting their properties to guest house operators because they renovate and maintain the homes while offering higher rents.
However, the catch-22 is that Islamabad doesn’t have many hotels, and the ones that do exist are quite heavy on the pocket, making guest houses a more affordable option for visitors. Despite this demand, the CDA’s outdated master plan does not officially allow guest houses to operate in residential areas, creating a policy gap that remains unaddressed.
Rather than revising the master plan to regulate and accommodate the legitimate need for guest houses, the development authority resorts to its go-to strategy: issuing notices to close businesses or temporarily sealing the premises, creating an even bigger problem of not having affordable places to stay in.
Moreover, hostels face the biannual exercise of being served eviction notices. Twice a year, without fail, the CDA announces that hostels are illegal, citing Islamabad’s outdated master plan, which does not permit hostels in residential or commercial areas. This is done despite knowing that universities, whether public or private, cannot accommodate even a third of their students in campus hostels. It is also important to mention that most universities in Islamabad don’t even have a hostel facility to cater to their students’ needs. However, instead of updating the master plan to reflect current realities, life is made more difficult for young students trying to survive in the city.
Public transport in Islamabad is another glaring oversight. While the CDA introduced a bus service, it only covers Zones 1 and 3. The real demand lies in Zones 4 and 5, where housing societies along the Islamabad Expressway have seen an unchecked population boom. These areas generate most of the city’s traffic and are home to countless commuters from Rawalpindi. Without an efficient bus network connecting schools, universities, offices, and housing areas, residents are forced to rely on ride-hailing apps that burn through their budgets. This situation disproportionately affects young professionals, many of whom cannot afford personal vehicles in their early careers.
The lack of affordable food options is another daily struggle. Islamabad’s residents find it difficult to grab an affordable meal, with even the cheapest restaurants charging exorbitant rates. For the working class, dhaabas and kiosks serve as a lifeline for low-cost dining, but these are disappearing fast. The city’s relentless encroachment drives continue to target small vendors under the guise of anti-encroachment policies.
According to reports, over 2,000 kiosks in Islamabad were declared illegal and bulldozed as part of the authorities’ crackdown. Despite many of these kiosks being licensed decades ago to address the lack of commercial spaces, the operation led to the closure of affordable food options that served as a lifeline for the city’s working class.
The city’s development agenda seems fixated on grandiose projects, flyovers, highways piercing through the Margalla Hills and road expansions – at the cost of the environment.
Billions are poured into these projects that only serve to benefit the elite, while real issues like affordable housing, public transport, and cheap dining options remain unresolved.
This focus on infrastructure projects, designed to impress rather than serve, ignores the city’s most pressing needs. Islamabad’s future does not lie in glitzy highways and flyovers but in ensuring that its residents, especially the young and the working class, can access basic necessities like housing, transport, and affordable meals.
The gap between the decisions made in boardrooms and the reality on the ground is staggering and widening. Those in positions of power are often disconnected from the daily struggles of the city’s residents, while those living through these struggles have little to no say in the policies that affect them.
The writer is an advocate for youth empowerment, climate action, and strengthening local governance.
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