Elite appellants move against One Constitution Avenue ruling

ISLAMABAD: A group of prominent sub-lessees in the One Constitution Avenue project has moved an intra-court appeal in the Islamabad High Court against a recent ruling that upheld cancellation of the development’s lease and tied the rights of apartment buyers to the fate of the builder, BNP (Private) Limited.

The appellants include former air chief Mujahid Anwar Khan, former International Cricket Council chairman Ehsan Mani, journalist Nasim Zehra and other sub-lessees in the luxury towers. They are seeking to set aside a single bench judgement dated April 30, 2026, which maintained the cancellation of the lease and held that the position of flat owners would depend on BNP’s legal standing.

The dispute concerns a 13.5-acre site near Constitution Avenue that the Capital Development Authority leased to BNP in 2005 for construction of a five-star hotel and serviced apartments. BNP later built two residential blocks, Tower B and Tower C, and granted sub-leases to a number of well-known buyers.

Among those named in the report are former prime minister Imran Khan, who later sold his apartment, Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, former State Bank governor Ashraf Wathra, former chief justice Nasirul Mulk, retired naval chief Mohammad Asif Sandila and senior journalist Absar Alam, along with others from political, judicial, military and media circles.

The matter escalated after BNP defaulted on lease payments. The CDA cancelled the lease in March 2023, triggering another round of court proceedings. In its April 30, 2026 judgement, the single bench upheld the cancellation and observed that sub-lessees "have to sink or sail with the petitioner", meaning their rights would stand or fall with BNP.

Appellants cite Supreme Court order

The intra-court appeal was filed by Ehsan Mani, Nasim Zehra and Myra Faisal. According to the appeal, the single bench wrongly merged their rights with those of BNP despite a Supreme Court order that had already protected the constructed towers from being taken over by the CDA in the event of a future default.

The appellants say that in a detailed order issued on January 9, 2019, the Supreme Court directed BNP to pay Rs17.5 billion in instalments and expressly separated the land beneath the two towers from the remainder of the plot.

"The Impugned Judgment fails to take into account that Clause 2.6 of the lease granted by the CDA to BNP gave BNP unrestricted right to sublet. Therefore, even upon cancellation of the principal lease, the CDA steps into the shoes of the lessor and is bound to recognise the sub-lessees’ rights," the appeal states.

The appellants have also pointed out that after cancelling the lease in 2023, the CDA itself appointed an administrator and a Resident Committee to run the towers.

Long history of the plot

The One Constitution Avenue site has been the subject of controversy for years. Earlier governments were unable to auction the land for a five-star hotel, and documents available with Dawn showed the location had been earmarked for that purpose.

Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto had faced a reference over an attempt to allot this and adjoining land for construction of a water park and five-star hotel. In 1995, the Lahore High Court rejected allegations of misconduct against her in relation to a proposed hotel project on CDA land near Rawal Lake, finding no evidence of personal pressure or illegal orders and noting that the project remained under consideration.

The PML-N government in 1998 tried to amend the Master Plan to permit high-rise construction, but that effort was overtaken by General Musharraf’s takeover. The plot was later auctioned to BNP during his rule.