What happened
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the formation of a joint investigation team (JIT) to examine issues related to the One Constitution Avenue project in Islamabad, Dawn reported, citing sources. The prime minister acted on the recommendation of a committee he had earlier set up to review the matter, and the JIT has been asked to submit its report within 60 days.
According to the report, the team will be headed by an officer of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and will include representatives from the Federal Investigation Agency, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the Federal Board of Revenue, the Intelligence Bureau and Inter-Services Intelligence. The prime minister directed NAB to notify the JIT and provide it with secretarial support.
Background to the dispute
The project, a residential and commercial development on Constitution Avenue, has been at the centre of a long-running dispute over payments to the capital’s development authority. Dawn reported that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had cancelled the plot over a payment default, a decision later upheld by the Islamabad High Court, and that the construction company had decided to pay Rs17.5 billion under a 2019 Supreme Court order to be settled in instalments over more than eight years. So far, according to the report, the company has deposited only about Rs2.9 billion.
The dispute escalated when the capital administration and the CDA, backed by a large police contingent, went to the site and issued eviction notices giving residents barely 12 hours to vacate, and some residents began leaving voluntarily. The prime minister then directed the Islamabad administration and the CDA to refrain from taking any action until he took a final decision, and constituted a high-level committee headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar and including Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, the cabinet secretary and the commerce secretary. Residents also obtained a stay order from the Islamabad High Court against the expected eviction.
What the committee found
The committee was tasked with examining all aspects of the issue and submitting a comprehensive report to the prime minister within one week; sources said it had already submitted its findings. A source told Dawn that the committee concluded the rights of legitimate residents had been established and that, before any eviction, the federal government or the CDA would have to compensate them in line with market rates. The formation of a JIT was among the committee’s recommendations and was accepted by the prime minister.
Why it matters
One Constitution Avenue sits on high-value state land in the capital’s administrative core, so how the government handles the default, the residents and the developer is being watched as a test of its approach to accountability and to protected urban property. The involvement of NAB alongside intelligence and tax agencies gives the inquiry a broad mandate, and its 60-day deadline sets a clear timetable for the first official findings.
What is still uncertain
The prime minister’s office has not released the committee’s report, and the JIT has not yet been formally notified. The report said the findings of the committee had not been made public and that nothing could be stated with authority until then. It remains unclear how residents will be compensated, at what level, or how the outstanding amounts owed by the company will be recovered.
Sources & reporting notes
This is a summary of published reporting, not independent reporting. Details are as carried by the cited source, which was reviewed on 2026-06-30.
- Dawn — "PM Shehbaz orders setting up of JIT to probe Islamabad's One Constitution Avenue project issues"30 June 2026 · The JIT's composition and 60-day deadline, the prime minister's directives, the background to the cancelled plot, the eviction notices, the high-level committee and the residents' stay order.
