The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has suspended all operations aimed at reclaiming state land across Islamabad following political and institutional backlash over its handling of the high-profile One Constitution Avenue case, officials said on Friday.
The decision came after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif intervened to pause the evacuation of the 22-storey residential complex in Islamabad’s Constitution Avenue, following complaints from residents and mounting controversy over enforcement action. The prime minister has since formed a high-level committee, chaired by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and including Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and senior bureaucrats, to review the dispute and submit a report within one week.
According to CDA officials, the civic body has been instructed to halt all enforcement actions until a final decision is taken on the One Constitution Avenue matter. The move effectively pauses ongoing anti-encroachment drives targeting informal settlements in parts of the capital, including Bari Imam and Saidpur.
The controversy intensified after CDA teams, backed by police, moved to take control of the building following the cancellation of its lease. Authorities had set a deadline for residents to vacate, with electricity reportedly scheduled for disconnection, although most units were later cleared voluntarily.
The Islamabad High Court recently dismissed a petition challenging the lease cancellation, with the CDA arguing that the developer had defaulted on payments for over two decades. Officials also claimed the project—originally intended as a five-star hotel—was converted into residential apartments, allegedly undermining its approved commercial purpose.
The dispute has revived scrutiny of a 2019 Supreme Court decision that had conditionally allowed regularisation of the project, and has sparked wider criticism on social media over perceived unequal enforcement of land laws in Islamabad.
For now, all CDA enforcement activity remains suspended pending the committee’s findings and the prime minister’s final decision.