{"id":125154,"date":"2026-05-01T20:24:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:24:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/?p=125154"},"modified":"2026-05-01T20:24:32","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T15:24:32","slug":"pm-forms-committee-to-review-one-constitution-avenue-case-halts-authorities-from-taking-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125154\/","title":{"rendered":"PM forms committee to review One Constitution Avenue case, halts authorities from taking action"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday constituted a high-level committee to review the issue involving One Constitution Avenue, a skyscraper in the federal capital that houses residential apartments, and also halted authorities from taking any action.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development comes a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) upheld <\/a>the Capital Development Authority\u2019s (CDA) decision to cancel the building\u2019s lease due to the company behind the project defaulting on payments. Late last night, reports had also emerged on social media of residents being served eviction notices by officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apartments in the building are also reportedly owned by prominent personalities, including PTI founder Imran Khan, Chaudhry Aitzaz Ahsan, Shandana Gulzar Aurangzeb, former minister Burjees Tahir and former caretaker prime minister Nasirul Mulk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Radio Pakistan<\/em><\/a>, the committee formed by the premier will be headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and will include Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the cabinet secretary and the commerce secretary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe committee has been tasked with examining all aspects of the issue and submitting a comprehensive report to the prime minister within one week,\u201d the report said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDuring this period, all affected individuals will be able to present their concerns before the committee, which will hear all parties and stakeholders without any discrimination,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUntil a final decision is taken by the prime minister, the Islamabad administration and the Capital Development Authority will refrain from taking any action in the matter,\u201d it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe prime minister has issued directives for the formation of this special committee to ensure that the requirements of justice are fully met in the One Constitution Avenue case,\u201d the report concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Residents pack up belongings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, the residents of One Constitution Avenue had begun vacating their apartments on a voluntary basis amid a large police presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents were seen shifting their belongings on mini trucks as the building was under the control of the local administration and police. Police personnel were also seen roaming inside the building\u2019s towers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom Constitution Avenue One to police station one,\u201d said PPP\u2019s Nadeem Afzal Chan on X, along with a video showing heavy police presence at the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Late last night, social media was flooded with videos<\/a> showing a large number of police personnel at the site. Reports circulating on social media said police had stormed the building past midnight and told the residents to vacate it. Some also claimed<\/a> that police had broken doors and locks in the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nadeem Haque, the former vice chancellor of the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, said that he rented an apartment in the building. He said he was \u201cjolted awake by heavy banging on the door\u201d at 1am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to him, armed police officers were at his door, appeared aggressive, showed no court orders or documents and gave no explanation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Journalist Nusrat Javeed said, \u201cAnyone still rushing to invest in Islamabad\u2019s giant residential towers needs a reality check.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>Minister details irregularities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Separately, Minister of State for Interior Tallal Chaudhry maintained that the company behind the building had repeatedly been given notices by the CDA to vacate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that with the recent action, the development authority had managed to establish \u201cstate writ against a company that has been evading accountability for the past 20 years\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The minister said that the BNP group was awarded the lease for Rs4.8 billion for building a \u201cfive-star hotel and serviced apartments\u201d. However, the company failed to pay that amount, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey took a Rs3.5bn loan from the Bank of Punjab, but they fraudulently mortgaged the property, took money from the bank and paid the CDA,\u201d he said. However, he added that the company defaulted on the bank loan, after which the case was sent to the National Accountability Bureau.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen NAB summoned the company for defaulting on payments, they pleaded that they did not have the funds and offered to have their commercial shops and apartments taken away,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut, you were not the owner and were not supposed to build anything other than a commercial hotel or serviced apartments,\u201d the minister pointed out. Chaudhry said that the company had built \u201c250 residential apartments in direct violation of the lease agreement\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the CDA had then cancelled the lease. However, the case ended up before the Supreme Court, which restored the lease and ruled that if the company defaulted on its payments, the CDA would have the right to terminate the lease, the minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2023, as the company continued to default on its payments, the CDA terminated the lease and took possession of the building, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the company had continued to the occupy the building illegally by \u201cviolating the terms of its lease, deceiving people and defaulting on payments\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhether it is informal settlements or a building such as this, the writ of the state will be established,\u201d the state minister asserted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Referring to the orders issued by the IHC on Thursday, Chaudhry said this was the \u201cfourth time that a judgement had been passed against the company\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn all these four times, the CDA has followed orders and did so yesterday as well,\u201d he added. He said that the company had built 253 apartments, out of which 184 were vacant and only 69 were \u201cpartially or fully occupied\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday constituted a high-level committee to review the issue involving One Constitution Avenue, a skyscraper in the federal capital that houses residential apartments, and also halted authorities from taking any action. The development comes a day after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) upheld the Capital Development Authority\u2019s (CDA) decision to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":125156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nPM forms committee to review One Constitution Avenue case, halts authorities from taking action - Nation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nationaltimes.pk\/eng\/2026\/125154\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PM forms committee to review One Constitution Avenue case, halts authorities from taking action - Nation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ISLAMABAD(National Times)- Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday constituted a high-level committee to review the issue involving One Constitution Avenue, a skyscraper in the federal capital that houses residential apartments, and also halted authorities from taking any action. 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