One Constitution Avenue case: Flats booked by who’s who of Pakistan

BNP submits booking list as IHC hearing of case against CDA over its lease cancellation continues

ISLAMABAD: The owners of the BNP have submitted a report carrying details of flat bookings in the under-construction building meant for Grand Hyatt hotel before the Islamabad High Court.

The details of the 240 flats and their owners surfaced on Tuesday. The BNP submitted details of the persons who have booked serviced flats in  One Constitution Avenue in compliance with court orders passed on January 2.



Justice Athar Minallah had directed to submit the names of buyers, the status of payments, and status of all flats by January 11.

The directions were issued during the hearing of several petitions where the owners of the One Constitution Avenue complex and others have challenged the Capital Development Authority (CDA)’s decision of terminating the contract of land lease and sealing of the building.

The three-page list includes several names that ring bells either on their own or due to famous relatives, including Imran Khan, Nasirul Mulk, Salman Bashir, Ahmed Mukhtar,  Feryal Ali Gauhar, Jahangir Khan, Haris Khan Toru, Rashid Khan, Shazia Hafeez Shaikh, Muhammad Hashim Khan, Dr Asad Zia, Shiekh Amir Waheed, Shahzad Waseem, Muhammad Asif Sandila, Mehboobul Haque, Naseem Zehra Ikhlaq, Khawaja Muhammad Asad and Kashmala Tariq.

On August 1, CDA had informed the IHC that it had terminated the 99-year lease agreement with BNP due to violations of city bylaws and repeated rescheduling of outstanding dues.

On July 1, the CDA had sealed the building for various building and layout plan violations.

The civic agency’s board, in a meeting held on July 29, had decided that appropriate action should be taken against officials that extended several relaxations to BNP from in contradiction of the authority’s rules and regulations, which caused huge losses to the CDA.



On March 9, 2005, CDA had auctioned the 13.5-acre plot on Constitution Avenue to the BNP Group for Rs4.88 billion. The CDA board, however, handed over the possession of the plot in 2005 after receiving just Rs800 million.

The BNP has paid the CDA Rs1.02 billion, while the remaining Rs3.85 billion is recoverable in instalments until 2026.

In the petition, the CEO of BNP and others have requested the court to restrain the civic body from taking any adverse action till the case is pending before the court.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 19^th, 2017.