ISLAMABAD: Sudden collapse of the elevator just outside the courtroom of the Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) once again exposed the substandard construction of the IHC building, which was completed about two years ago.

The lawyers were coming back from the courtroom one on third floor after attending the hearing.

Eight lawyers entered the elevator while it was capable of accommodating only four persons. The lift suddenly fell from the 2nd floor; however, no injury was reported.

According to Advocate Ali Haider, who was also in the elevator, the lift descended to the basement in few seconds.

Those who were trapped in the elevator became frightened as there were no mobile phone signals.

IHC was relocated from Sector G-10 to Constitution Avenue earlier in 2023. The private firm Habib Rafique Private Limited started the construction of new building in November 2013 and it took about a decade to complete.

The defects of the new building came to light following the malfunctioning of an elevator in which the Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, along with 18 people, remained stranded for over 40 minutes in August 2023.

Recently, during the hearing of a case related to the construction of parliament lodges, IHC Chief Justice Aamir Farooq sarcastically remarked that the Islamabad High Court building is also a classic example of the work of same builder.

After the incident in which Mr Khosa and others were stranded, the IHC administration ordered an inquiry into the elevator malfunction and sought a report.

The HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) which had cost Rs550 million was out of order. Most recently, the faulty elevator hinted that the building posed serious threats to the lives of litigants, lawyers, court staffers, and even judges of the high court.

Moreover, the boundary wall of the IHC collapsed, following the incident the Pakistan Public Works Department wrote a letter to the housing ministry, saying that “the filtration plant of the newly constructed Islamabad High Court is not functioning properly. HVAC System which was 100pc paid to the contractor in June 2022” was out of order.

Published in Dawn, February 7th, 2025