ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) will resume hearing on Monday of a petition filed by the builder of the One Constitution Avenue against a banking court order seeking the recovery of a loan as a joint investigation team (JIT) has finalised its probe into the matter.

A division bench, comprising Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and Justice Umair Majeed Malik, will hear an appeal filed by Abdul Hafeez Sheikh against the banking court order that had directed him to repay the loan.

The builder has maintained that the loan liability had been settled after the Bank of Punjab (BoP) acquired a reasonable share in the property.

The case is part of the wider legal dispute surrounding the 13.5-acre One Constitution Avenue project located adjacent to the Convention Centre, where the rights of the original lessee, the bank and hundreds of apartment purchasers, have become entangled.

The development comes as the BoP and several flat owners have separately challenged before the IHC division bench a single bench judgement upholding the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) cancellation of the project’s lease.

On April 30, IHC Chief Justice Sardar Mohammad Sarfaraz Dogar had dismissed a petition by BNP (Private) Limited, the original lessee, and upheld the CDA’s decision to cancel the lease over alleged payment defaults.

The single bench also held that third-party purchasers and sub-lessees would “sink or sail” with the original lessee, meaning their rights were dependent on the builder’s interest in the property.

The BoP has challenged the judgement, contending that it has a direct financial interest in the project. The bank had acquired around 25,420 square feet on sub-lease, comprising space on the lower ground, upper ground and first floors, for establishing its branch.

Several apartment owners, including overseas Pakistanis and other purchasers, have also approached the division bench, arguing that the judgement could adversely affect their vested proprietary rights.

They have requested that the CDA should not be allowed to dispossess or evict them without following due process. They have also relied on Supreme Court orders of January 9, 2019 and November 6, 2019, under which the CDA was directed to formulate a viable, fair and transparent arrangement for resolving third-party claims.

The division bench had temporarily suspended the effect of the single bench decision after the bank and affected buyers approached the court.

Separately, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had ordered the formation of a high-level JIT to investigate issues concerning the project after a committee reviewed the matter.

The JIT, headed by a National Accountability Bureau (NAB) officer, comprised representatives of the Federal Investigation Agency, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, Federal Board of Revenue, Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence. It was directed to submit its findings to the prime minister within 60 days.

The committee had earlier examined the project following an attempt by the capital administration and CDA to initiate eviction proceedings against residents after the IHC upheld the lease cancellation.

The project’s financial dispute dates back to the CDA’s 2004-05 auction of the plot for Rs4.8 billion. Instead of developing the site as originally envisaged, the company constructed around 250 residential apartments and sold them in the market.

In 2019, the Supreme Court directed the company to pay Rs17.5 billion for the project in installments over eight years. According to officials, however, only around Rs2.9 billion has so far been deposited.

Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026