PM forms JIT to probe One Constitution Avenue case

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a high-powered Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to probe the controversial One Constitution Avenue case.

Sharief ordered the formation of the JIT on the recommendations of a special committee — the prime minister had formed on May 1 to review the controversial One Constitution Avenue case — headed by Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, which submitted its findings to the Prime Minister’s Office on Tuesday, sources said.

The high-profile property, located in Islamabad’s heavily secured Red Zone, has become the centre of a complex legal and political battle involving prominent public figures, judicial intervention and an administrative crackdown.

The crisis originally intensified in late April when the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad district administration launched an overnight evacuation operation.

The move followed an Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruling that upheld the cancellation of the building’s lease, which had been revoked due to a massive multi-billion-rupee default by the developer, BNP (Private) Limited.

On May 1, PM Sharif constituted the law minister-led committee, tasking it with hearing all affected parties and compiling its findings.

The prime minister had also halted further evictions of the residents by the CDA after forming the committee.

On May 25, the IHC granted interim relief to the residents by restraining authorities from executing any further evacuations.

On June 10, more high-profile figures sought to formally join the litigation, arguing that they were lawful buyers directly impacted by the CDA’s lease cancellation.

Among those filing applications to become parties in the appeals were Zainab Ahsan, daughter of veteran lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan, and Shahid Naseer, who holds a sub-lease for an apartment in Tower C originally linked to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf founder and former prime minister Imran Khan.

Though the scheduled June 10 hearing was postponed due to the unavailability of the division bench — comprising Justice Muhammad Azam Khan and Justice Inam Amin Minhas — the adjournment automatically extended the court’s interim protection order, shielding the residents from eviction for the time being.

Following the submission of the committee’s final report, the prime minister has formed the JIT, headed by a Grade-21 officer from the National Accountability Bureau.

Sources further said that high-ranking officers from the Federal Investigation Agency, the Intelligence Bureau and the Inter-Services Intelligence alongside senior officials from the Federal Board of Revenue and the Ministry of Interior have been included in the JIT as members.

The JIT has been tasked with conducting a thorough investigation into the entire lifecycle of the One Constitution Avenue project, scrutinising the financial default, mapping out institutional lapses, and identifying the individuals responsible for the controversy.