ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday decided to make the federal capital Pakistan’s first fully cashless city until December 31.
The decision was taken in a meeting presided over by Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry. The meeting decided to transform Islamabad into a cashless city and set December 31 as a deadline for integrating all merchants into the digital payment system, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Interior on its X account.
During the meeting, Chaudhry said that consultation and recommendations from all stakeholders were mandatory for the successful implementation of the project. Work on the cashless Islamabad project has been continuing for some time following the directives of Prime Minister Shehbaz Shrif, and Federal Minister for Interior Mohsin Naqvi.
Chaudhry said that Naqvi had promised the Prime Minister that Islamabad would be made the first cashless city of Pakistan and the first cashless federal capital in the world. No cash payment would be made in any department of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration after November 30, he said, adding that the target is set to integrate all merchants into the cashless system by December 31.
The minister said that so far 26,000 merchants in Islamabad have already been linked to digital payment facilities. Digital payment services would be made available at every level, ranging from street vendors and small businesses to major commercial centres, he said.
Chaudhry said that the transition to a cashless system would improve financial transparency, tax monitoring, and the overall efficiency of financial transactions. All relevant institutions would work together to transform Islamabad into a modern digital city.
Chairman of the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Sohail Ashraf, representatives of the banking sector, and other senior officials attended the meeting.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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