ISLAMABAD: A powerful group of Pakistan’s political, military and media elite has moved the Islamabad High Court to protect their luxury apartments in the prestigious One Constitution Avenue project after a landmark ruling put the future of the iconic towers in jeopardy.

Among the appellants are former Pakistan Air Force chief Mujahid Anwar Khan, former International Cricket Council chairman Ehsan Mani and senior journalist Nasim Zehra. They have filed an intra court appeal challenging the Islamabad High Court’s April 30 judgment, which upheld the cancellation of the project’s lease and declared that apartment owners would “sink or sail” with the developer, BNP Private Limited.

The dispute centers on a 13.5 acre prime property on Constitution Avenue, leased by the Capital Development Authority in 2005 for a five star hotel and serviced apartments. BNP later built two luxury residential towers and sold sub leases to dozens of high profile buyers, including former prime minister Imran Khan, who has since sold his apartment.

Other notable owners include Federal Commerce Minister Jam Kamal Khan, former State Bank of Pakistan governor Ashraf Mahmood Wathra, former caretaker prime minister and chief justice Nasirul Mulk, retired naval chief Muhammad Asif Sandila and journalist Absar Alam.

The appellants argue their property rights were legally acquired and cannot be wiped out because BNP defaulted on payments to the CDA. They cite a 2019 Supreme Court order that protected the completed towers and separated them from the rest of the disputed land, ensuring that apartment owners would not lose their homes in case of future defaults.

The case has become one of Islamabad’s most closely watched property battles, with billions of rupees and the interests of some of the country’s most influential figures at stake. The High Court’s decision on the appeal will determine whether One Constitution Avenue remains a symbol of elite investment or becomes one of the capital’s most dramatic real estate collapses.