• One Constitution Avenue embroiled in Rs17bn default scandal
• CDA tells IHC flat allottees can’t seek court’s intervention to settle dispute with owner

ISLAMABAD: The case of the capital’s renowned skyscraper, One Constitution Avenue, has become a little more complex after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) informed the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that flat allottees in the high-rise could not seek the court’s intervention in their dispute with the building’s owner.

The development is part of a broader case concerning the termination of the lease to BNP (Pvt) Ltd, the building’s developer, over a significant default of Rs17 billion. The IHC is scheduled to deliberate on this matter next week.

The controversy has gained additional attention due to the involvement of Supreme Court judge Ijazul Ahsan, who resigned earlier this week.

According to the court’s record, the builder’s petition is scheduled for a hearing on Jan 17 against the termination of his lease over default.

One Constitution Avenue, launched in 2005 following the auction of a 13.5-acre plot for Rs4.8bn, has been marred by controversies from the start.

The CDA handed over the plot’s possession to the company after receiving only Rs800 million the same year.

By 2016-17, only Rs1.02bn of the remaining amount was paid to the civic agency.

In 2016, the CDA cancelled the lease of the plot. IHC Justice Athar Minallah not only upheld the CDA’s decision but also asked the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to launch an investigation into the matter.

However, the project was de-sealed in 2021 following a judgement headed by the then chief justice of Pakistan, Saqib Nisar.

In line with the 2019 verdict, the developer was supposed to deposit Rs17.5bn in installments over eight years. The company deposited the first instalment of Rs1.7bn and later reneged on its commitment.

However, the CDA shif­ted the increase in the cost of land to the allottees of the flats, who challenged this before the IHC.

The CDA has recently submitted a reply in this matter, saying that the allottees could not invoke the jurisdiction as they didn’t have the right or ability to bring legal action to a court of law.

Meanwhile, the owner also filed a petition before the IHC in August last year and obtained a stay order.

Role of Justice Ijaz

Former Supreme Court judge Ijazul Ahsan has been repeatedly mentioned in this case. He was facing a couple of references in connection with this skyscraper and was also part of the bench that restored the lease.

Last year, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, PML-N’s chief organiser, publicly accused him of corruption in connection with the One Constitution Avenue project, bringing the case into the limelight.

Before his appointment as a Lahore High Court judge, Mr Ahsan was a legal adviser to BNP. Documents seen by Dawn revealed that Mr Ahsan, on July 26, 2005, wrote to the Bank of Punjab regarding a bank guarantee for the project.

He also issued a legal notice to Belhasa International Company on Sept 22, 2005, on behalf of BNP, in connection with the same project.

In May 2017, the Fed­e­r­­al Investigation Agency registered an FIR against the owners, form­­er chairman CDA Kamran Lashari, member planning retired Brig Nusrat, former member finance Kamran Qureshi, former member administration Shaukat Mohammad and former member engineering Moin Kakakhel.

Then-additional legal adviser Rai Nawaz Kharal, former director of estate Habibur Rehman Gillani and former project management director Dr Faisal Awan were also nominated.

The FIR alleged that the builders constructed luxury apartments instead of a lu­­­xury hotel and sold apartments to vario­­us buyers illegally, thereby extracting bil­­lions of rupees from the public through fraud.

Mr Kharal filed a petition before the IHC seeking pre-arrest bail, and during the course of arguments, he stated that he alleged before the court that the FIA nominated him in FIR as accused to implicate the apex court judge in the case. Talking to Dawn, Mr Kharal reiterated the same stance.

At that time, Ijazul Ahsan was part of the five-member bench that was hearing the case related to the Panama Papers.

The bench later disqualified former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and on its direction, NAB filed three references against the Sharif family.

The judge was also appointed as a mon­­itoring judge of the accountability court.

The court convicted Mr Sharif, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law Safdar Awan in an expeditious trial days before the 2018 general elections.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2024