Naqvi says One Constitution Avenue to be converted into five-star hotel in 'coming months'

Naqvi added: "We will convert this building to a five-star hotel in the coming months, which was its basic purpose in the first place. There is a shortage of hotels in Islamabad, and soon we will try to sign an agreement with a big chain for this purpose.

"#Livehttps://t.co/NSnbQZBj. Lk— Radio Pakistan (@Radio. Pakistan)November 4, 2026Read:IHC issues detailed verdict in One Constitution Avenue case, rules buyers have no legal claim to ownership.

In an earlier press conference, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, speaking alongside Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry, said that a JIT report submitted to the cabinet had found "irregularities and rigging" in the One Constitution Avenue project.

He said: "The prime minister had ordered an inquiry committee into the fraud that took place in the name of One Constitution Avenue, and today the JIT report was placed before the cabinet, which consisted of members from NAB, FIA, FBR, SECP, IB and ISI. They investigated the entire project and submitted a report that the cabinet considered today.

"Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said that the Joint Investigation Team's report has uncovered serious irregularities, manipulation, and fraud in the One Constitution Avenue project in Islamabad.@Plan. Com. Pakistan@betterpakistan@MoIB_Official@CDAIslamabad#Radio.

Pakistan…pic.twitter.com/WiDPOGye3r— Radio Pakistan (@Radio. Pakistan)November 4, 2026The planning minister underscored that the bidding process for the project was manipulated, further noting that the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was found not only to be "negligent" but also culpable and "involved" in the irregularities and fraud that took place.

Read More:CDA put on notice in One Constitution Avenue case. The minister added: "The rules were relaxed to favour certain individuals, and the company that was given the lease was not the rightful claimant of the lease".

He further stated that the precondition of a bank guarantee was removed to favour the developer, adding that the paperwork submitted for the project was also found to be dubious.

Iqbal underlined that the apartments that were sold were done so "illegally", further noting that the project was initially approved as a five-star hotel but was later converted into selling apartments. "The JIT identified the individuals involved in the manipulation, including Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, who is the mastermind and has connived with officers from CDA," he said.

The minister also stated that other CDA officers, including former chairman Kamran Lashari, Dr Faisal Awan, and Azhar Ali Chaudhry, were also involved in this fraud. He said that these "individuals defrauded many Pakistanis of their savings and secured personal financial benefit from this project".

Iqbal stated that the recommendations of the JIT report maintain that Shaikh and his company were "prosecuted" and also "blacklisted" for any future public sector projects. The minister added: "The project should be redirected towards its original purpose, and a transparent bidding process should be carried out, and security clearance from institutions should be taken.

Fire safety and other protocols must also be ensured. "Iqbal said that the project should also be renamed because the name of One Constitution Avenue was taken through deceit, as the first building on Constitution Avenue was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"They only took the name of One Constitution for marketing purposes. "For those people who invested in this project and were deceived, it is the government's responsibility to compensate, and the principal amount plus interest would be returned, so that they do not suffer any loss.

The minister added that JIT also recommended that CDA and its ordinance should be overhauled and an independent master plan commission should be established. "All records will be digitised so that nobody can manipulate the records, and officers will be rotated every two years," he said.