By Asif Naveed
ISLAMABAD (MNN); The revenue system of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) has remained non-operational for more than 10 days, disrupting online payment services for property tax and other municipal bills and causing inconvenience to thousands of citizens.
The technical issue has effectively paralyzed the MCI’s revenue department, forcing residents to submit their dues through manual cash payments instead of the online system. Officials are working to restore the service, while a technical investigation is also underway.
Speaking to MNN, MCI Director Information Technology Shahzad Malik rejected reports circulating on social media that the corporation had fallen victim to a major cyberattack.
He clarified that no official social media accounts, bank accounts, or core IT infrastructure of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad had been hacked. According to him, the disruption was caused by a technical problem within the system rather than a confirmed cybersecurity breach.
Malik expressed optimism that the online revenue system would become operational again by Monday, adding that efforts to restore normal services are progressing.
He further disclosed that the National Radio Telecommunication Corporation (NRTC) has been assigned to conduct an independent third-party audit to determine the exact cause of the system failure and ensure the integrity and security of MCI’s digital infrastructure.
The IT director also dismissed reports claiming that unidentified hackers had demanded Rs4 billion in cryptocurrency—equivalent to nearly 250 Bitcoins—as ransom. He termed such reports baseless and said there was no evidence supporting claims of ransom demands or negotiations with cybercriminals.
Earlier reports had alleged that international hackers had compromised the MCI revenue department’s accounts about a week ago, resulting in major disruptions to revenue collection and creating difficulties in processing payments. Some reports also claimed that senior officials had been in contact with the alleged hackers.
However, MCI officials have denied these allegations and insist that the matter relates to technical issues rather than a confirmed hacking incident.
Meanwhile, MNN attempted to obtain the official version from MCI Chief Officer Dr. Anam Fatima, but no response was received. Similarly, the Director General declined to comment on the ongoing situation.
The disruption has raised concerns about the resilience of digital public services, with citizens urging authorities to restore the online payment system at the earliest while ensuring transparency regarding the actual cause of the outage.
