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Government creates committee to pay back buyers after lease problem.
BY Mahnoor | 04-May-2026
This photo was taken on September 4, 2025, and shows the One Constitution Avenue building located near the convention center in Islamabad. — INP
- A committee will look over cases and then write a report about them.
- Waiting for the project manager to approve the payment plan.
- Officials have been instructed to stop.
ISLAMABAD: The government has agreed to refund apartment owners of One Constitution Avenue their original payments. An official announcement will be made after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approves it.
A special committee created by the prime minister has started looking into the legal and official sides of the big, well-known issue. This was announced in a statement from the Cabinet Division. Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar leads the committee, which also includes Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry and top officials from the Cabinet and Commerce Divisions.
The committee will look at similar situations, hear from concerned apartment owners, and suggest a fair solution to address complaints while following court orders. They plan to give their report to the prime minister by May 8.
Until a final decision is made, the CDA, police, and district administration are instructed not to take action against residents.
The problem is due to an old argument about the project. In 2005, the CDA gave 13.5 acres of land to a company to build a fancy hotel. The company leased the land for Rs4.8 billion and got it after paying 15% upfront. But then, they stopped paying, causing delays and lawsuits.
In 2019, Pakistan’s top court told the builder to pay about $58 million to get the lease back. They’ve only paid about $9.6 million so far and still owe about $48 million, so the lease was canceled in 2023.
Officials also pointed out that the developer built 263 apartments on the land, going against the initial agreement. Even though people were warned that the project was disputed, sales still went through.
Right now, only 69 out of 263 apartments have people living in them. Most are still owned by investors. Officials say that only a few of the occupied apartments are used as permanent homes since many are rented out for short periods.
Acting on orders from the Islamabad High Court, CDA officials, with police support, have given seven-day eviction notices to residents, as instructed by the court.
Even though they were warned, the government will now pay back the people affected, showing they want to end the long argument.
