ISLAMABAD: The management of the under-construction Grand Hyatt Hotel and apartments has submitted a list of powerful affected people before the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

The private firm BNP submitted the details before the court in response to an order passed by Justice Athar Minallah during the hearing of a petition filed by the firm on Jan 2, which directed the firm to submit details of allottees and the sum they have deposited so far.

The BNP has challenged the cancellation of a land lease for a luxury hotel and 37-storey twin residential towers next to the Convention Centre. The 99-year lease, auctioned on March 9, 2005, was cancelled by the Capital Development Authority in July last year.

The CDA had auctioned a 13.5 acre plot to the BNP Group for Rs4.9 billion, but its board handed over possession of the plot to the buyer the same year, after receiving only 15pc of the total sum.

The building was also initially allowed to reach the height of 718 feet, which was reduced to 300 feet after objections were raised by the Civil Aviation Authority.

In addition to the BNP, several affected allottees have challenged the plots’ cancellation through their counsel Asma Jahangir, Khawaja Haris Ahmed and opposition leader in the Senate Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan.

According to the details, Mr Ahsan’s daughter Zainab Ahsan is also among the affected people.

The list of 240 affected people includes PTI Chairman Imran Khan, SBP Governor Mohammad Ashraf Wathra, Pemra Chairman Absar Alam, former CJP Nasirul Mulk, former LHC chief justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry, Minister Jam Kamal Khan, former naval chief Mohammad Asif Sandila, former foreign secretary Salman Bashir, retired Lt Gen Ahsan Azhar Hayat, television celebrity Faryal Gauhar, former Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ehsan Mani, former defence minister Ahmed Mukhtar, the son of the incumbent defence minister Khawaja Mohammad Asad, politician Kashmala Tariq, Saqib Barjees - the son of federal minister Barjees Tahir, former CDA director general Sohail Durrani, anchorperson Nasim Zehra Ikhlaq, former chief land commissioner Sajid Hotiana and Princess Shalalay Abbasi.

In August 2018, 18 affected people – including Saad Noman, the son of former naval chief Noman Bashir, Humza Suleman, the son of former foreign secretary Suleman Bashir and Sheikh Amir Waheed, the brother of Pakistan Baitul Mal managing director Abid Waheed, filed petitions against the cancellation of BNP’s lease in the IHC.

In its report on the sealing of the site of the under-construction hotel and apartments, the CDA said its officials had extended undue favours to the BNP from the start.

The report said the authority offered the plot to the BNP Group – whic consisted of Bismillah Textile, Niagara Mills, Paragon City and Dubai-based Belhasa International Company. However, the lease agreement was signed with a firm named Elite Fashion, which changed its name to BNP on May 2, 2005.

According to the certificate of incorporation of change, Elite Fashion, which was owned by Bismillah Textile, was obliged to continue using its former name along with the new one for a year.

However, the lease was signed between the CDA and BNP, and the name of Elite Fashion was not mentioned in the document.

During an earlier hearing in the case, Justice Minallah asked the CDA why it did not take action at the very outset and now, when a third party interest is involved and after so many people have bought the apartments, it recalled the enforcement of rules.

Mr Minallah sought details of plots transferred to other private parties as well.

The CDA submitted the details to the court, which were deemed unsatisfactory. Justice Minallah will resume hearing the case on Jan 20.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2017