More facts surface ahead of high profile One Constitution project case hearing

ISLAMABAD: As the Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to resume hearing on the high-profile One Constitution project on Monday, intriguing new facts have surfaced in the court record, including a 2012 interim arbitration award issued by incumbent Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and a former chamber president to resolve disputes between two main partners.

The arbitration award, dated September 13, 2012, was issued by Khawaja Asif and Mian Hamid Javed, former president of the Faisalabad Chamber of Commerce and Industries. The agreement was meant to settle differences between Abdul Hafeez Sheikh of M BNP and Nadeem Zia Pirzada of M/s Paragon regarding the five-star hotel project.

According to the settlement placed on record, the parties agreed that BNP’s ownership would ultimately be 75 per cent with Sheikh and 25 per cent with Pirzada, subject to a forensic audit to determine financial contributions, loans and liabilities.

Interestingly, the award records that bank loans taken by Sheikh and his family for the hotel project were secured against Pirzada’s family properties in Paragon City, and were to be treated as Pirzada’s contribution.

Meanwhile, Sheikh’s costs and markup were credited to him.

The award further clarified that Pirzada would have no claim over BNP assets unrelated to the hotel project that predated July 2005.

It also provided for professional management of BNP to ensure independent operation.

Final share transfers were made conditional upon the completion of audit, repayment of loans, and resolution of pending court proceedings.

In a related development, the court record also contains a petition concerning a dispute between BNP and the Bank of Punjab.

Notably, Ejazul Ahsan — who later became a judge of the Supreme Court — signed as counsel for BNP in that petition.

Interestingly, Justice Ahsan was part of the IHC bench that, despite objections from the Capital Development Authority (CDA), restored the controversial lease of the One Constitution Avenue project.

That restoration paved the way for creating third-party interests, as the builder soon handed over 240 flats to buyers after the lease revival.

A stunning list of buyers has emerged in the record, revealing that 240 flats in the disputed project were allotted to a who’s who of Pakistan’s power elite.

According to documents placed before the court, the buyers include a former acting president of Pakistan (who served two non-consecutive terms), a former Sn ate chairman, a former prime minister, two former chief justices of Pakistan, a former chief justice of the Lahore High Court, a former defence minister, son of the present defence minister, a former chief minister of Balochistan, multiple sitting federal ministers, a former air chief, two former naval chiefs, a retired lieutenant general, a former foreign secretary, a former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, a former interior and law minister, a former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, a former chairman of Pemra, a former chairman ICC, senior journalists, prominent lawyers, leading doctors, top businessmen, renowned overseas Pakistanis, foreign nationals and foreign companies, a provincial government-owned bank besides others.

Published in Dawn, May 24th, 2026