ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday took notice of the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) decision to include 250 acres allocated to two public-sector universities in a housing scheme and sought an immediate report on the matter.

Sources said the Prime Minister’s Office had written to the CDA seeking a report. Following the directive, CDA officials spent the day preparing a report for submission to the prime minister. “The prime minister has taken notice of a media report and sought an immediate report from the CDA,” a source said.

In 2008, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) paid Rs1.3 billion to acquire 250 acres from the CDA in the Kuri area for establishing two public-sector universities.

However, a couple of years ago, the CDA included the land in Margalla Enclave, a housing scheme jointly developed by the authority and the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), spread over around 18,000 kanals.

As an alternative, the CDA decided to allot 40 acres in Sector I-17, including 25 acres for the engineering university and 15 acres for the law university, in place of the original 250 acres.

Sources said HEC officials recently rejected the proposal at a meeting held at the interior ministry, arguing that the CDA was offering substantially less land while also demanding additional payment.

The matter remained unresolved, and the CDA board was scheduled to take it up again at its meeting on Monday. However, sources said the issue could not be discussed due to a shortage of time. The prime minister subsequently sought a report after the matter was highlighted in the media.

The disparity has also drawn attention because the CDA had allocated 28 acres in Kuri for the Supreme Court but earmarked 50 acres for it in Sector I-17.

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2026