- PM refrains authorities from taking any action.
- Committee to submit report to PM within week.
- IHC upholds CDA decision on lease cancellation.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday constituted a high-level committee to review the dispute surrounding One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad, refraining authorities from taking any action in the matter.
Minister for Law and Justice Azam Nazeer Tarar will chair the committee, which also comprises Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, and the cabinet and commerce secretaries, according to a statement issued by the PM Office.
The committee has been tasked with examining all aspects of the issue and submitting a comprehensive report to PM Shehbaz within one week.
During 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.
The Islamabad administration and the CDA will refrain from taking any action in the matter until a final decision is taken by the prime minister.
The formation of the committee comes after reports emerged last night that the CDA, accompanied by police, arrived at the site to take custody of the 22-storey structure following the cancellation of its lease.
Police officials later said that it had set a deadline of Saturday midnight for occupants to leave, adding that most of the towers had already been vacated, with limited residents still present in a few apartments.
The remaining residents have been asked to collect their belongings as electricity will be disconnected by 6pm, police officials said.
A day earlier, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Sardar Sarfaraz Dogar dismissed a petition filed by a private company against the cancellation of the lease of the building.
During the proceedings, the CDA informed the court that the developer had defaulted on payments for over two decades, leading to the lease cancellation.
Sources within the CDA maintained that the multi-storey building, originally planned as a five-star hotel, was converted into residential apartments, allegedly depriving Islamabad of a major hospitality project.
The controversy traces back to a 2019 Supreme Court decision by former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar and former justice Ijazul Ahsan, which had conditionally allowed the regularisation of the One Constitution Avenue.
