Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif constituted a high-level committee to review the situation surrounding One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad. This decision comes amid ongoing legal and administrative turmoil linked to the residential complex.
The committee is headed by Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar. It includes Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the Cabinet Secretary, and the Commerce Secretary. The group must submit a comprehensive report to the Prime Minister within one week.
The Islamabad administration and the Capital Development Authority (CDA) will not take any further action until a final decision is made by the Prime Minister. This pause follows the Islamabad High Court’s ruling that upheld the CDA’s decision to cancel the building’s lease due to payment defaults by BNP Group.
Residents received eviction notices instructing them to vacate their apartments by midnight following this ruling. The project originally stems from a 13.5-acre plot awarded to BNP Group in an auction on March 9, 2005, for Rs4.88 billion.
The CDA canceled the lease in July 2016, citing multiple violations. In early 2019, the Supreme Court set aside the IHC judgment, directing the developer to pay Rs17.5 billion in installments over eight years. However, only Rs2.9 billion of this total has reportedly been paid.
The complex includes 253 apartments owned by several prominent figures, including Imran Khan and other politicians. Talal Chaudhry noted that out of these apartments, 184 were vacant while only 69 were partially or fully occupied.
Observers expect that during this period, all affected individuals will have opportunities to present their concerns before the committee, which will hear all parties without discrimination. The next steps in this case depend heavily on the committee’s findings and recommendations.