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One Constitution victims paid in 2 days, hotel plan setPakistan
Victims of One Constitution Avenue will be paid within two days, Ahsan Iqbal has said, as Mohsin Naqvi unveiled a plan to turn the building into a hotel.
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Victims of One Constitution Avenue in Islamabad will receive their compensation claims within two days, Federal Minister for Planning Ahsan Iqbal has said, as the government moved on two fronts over the troubled building: relief for those affected, and a new future for the structure itself.
Iqbal said the federal government would ensure compensation for the victims, and that a committee formed by the federal cabinet had taken up the matter. He said he would supervise the committee himself, with the chairman of the Capital Development Authority providing a survey of the affected people so that payments can be made swiftly.
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He also announced action against officials held responsible. Three officers have been dismissed and nine suspended, Iqbal said, while a criminal case has been referred to the Federal Investigation Agency, with an investigation now under way. The steps signal that the government intends to pair compensation with accountability.
Separately, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi visited One Constitution Avenue and chaired a meeting at the Capital Development Authority, where he announced that the building would be converted into a five-star hotel. He directed the CDA chairman, Muhammad Ali Randhawa, to remove obstacles to the conversion and to submit a plan for the project.
During the visit, the CDA chairman briefed the meeting on progress so far. Naqvi also raised compensation for flat owners during the meeting, underlining that the residents caught up in the building’s troubles remain at the centre of the government’s response.
The two announcements, from two different ministers and forums, address different sides of the same long-running matter. Iqbal’s statement focuses on the victims, the committee, the two-day payment pledge and the disciplinary and criminal proceedings. Naqvi’s visit focuses on what happens to the building next, with the hotel conversion presented as a way to put the site to new use.
For the affected flat owners, the immediate question is whether the two-day pledge is met in practice. The committee’s survey of affected people will be central to that, since payments can only be processed once the list of claimants is settled. Residents and observers will be watching the coming days closely for evidence that the money is reaching those entitled to it.
The hotel plan, meanwhile, raises its own questions about timelines, financing and the legal steps still required before conversion work can begin. Naqvi’s direction to the CDA chairman to prepare a plan suggests those details are still to be worked out, even as the headline decision has now been announced.
Together, the announcements mark a significant moment for a building that has been a source of dispute and distress for its residents. Compensation within days, action against officials, a criminal investigation and a new plan for the site all point to an effort to close one chapter and open another, though the test will lie in delivery rather than declaration.
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