DAWN’s write-ups have emphasised that other than ministers, retired chief justices, bureaucrats and defence personnel, Imran Khan is also among the 80 affectees who have challenged the Islamabad High Court ruling in favour of the CDA decision to cancel the lease of land to the builder.

It appears that only a few of the 80 are well-known bigwigs as also the other 160 (total apartments allotted being 240) are ‘ordinary’ citizens who do not hold and never had held high positions in the past.

Investments of hard-earned money for the sake of a return were made by people from within the country and abroad. If bigwigs were unaware of the CDA’s and the builder’s wrongdoings, how could ‘ordinary’ citizens, particularly overseas investors, have known?

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis’ recommendation that the project be completed in the interest of investors is a truly democratic decision.

However, the minister for the interior, a few days after the IHC judgement, desired a settlement of investors’ dues and directed an additional secretary to suggest other uses of the building.

Had he also suggested to look, inter alia, into an option as to how investors, who have waited for years, could retain their apartments. Interestingly, the lease was cancelled when the building was completed and allottees were taking possession.

The two towers in a prestigious location of the capital had been going up for years during which the CDA and the builder company were alleged to have committed several wrongdoings though neither any action was taken by any government agency to rectify the situation nor were the investors warned by the relevant authorities.

One Constitution Avenue is one sad saga.

M. Akhtar

Islamabad

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2017