How Aabpara’s Government Flats Became a Legal Battleground

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has summoned Capital Development Authority Chairman Sohail Ashraf in person over allegations that police personnel were evicted from flats in Aabpara despite a court order restraining the authority from proceeding.

Justice Muhammad Azam Khan, hearing a petition filed by police employees on October 23, questioned why eviction proceedings had allegedly continued while the stay order remained in force. The court also indicated that the petition could be converted into contempt proceedings.

According to the written-order details provided to Islamabad Tribune, the court has sought a report explaining why the personnel were removed and identifying any CDA officers responsible for acting contrary to its directions.

The petitioners’ counsel maintained that CDA teams, accompanied by police, proceeded with the operation despite the judicial restraint. During the hearing, the judge observed that authorities disagreeing with a court order should approach the court to explain their position rather than disregard its directions.

CDA counsel Shehryar Tariq challenged the evidentiary basis of the alleged violation and argued that no separate contempt application had been filed. The court questioned how employees allegedly displaced from their homes could be expected to initiate another application in those circumstances. No final finding of contempt against any official has been reported in the proceedings reviewed.

A Housing Dispute Stretching Back Nearly Two Decades

The case concerns approximately 200 CDA-built flats near Aabpara Market in Sector G-6. Completed in 2003 under a government housing redevelopment scheme, the apartments were intended for government employees.

Before arrangements for their transfer to the housing ministry were finalised, the flats were used to accommodate families displaced by the October 2005 earthquake. Police personnel subsequently moved into the buildings during the 2007 Lal Masjid operation, and their continued occupation became the subject of prolonged litigation.

The dispute reached the Supreme Court years before the current proceedings. In July 2018, the court directed that the flats be cleared within a month. During that hearing, the additional attorney general informed the court that 114 apartments had been provided to police personnel during the 2007 operation.

Earlier Directions Remained Unimplemented

An IHC judgment dated February 13, 2023, later became a central basis for the CDA’s efforts to recover possession.

In a written reply prepared for the National Assembly’s October 25, 2024 sitting, the Interior Ministry described the police occupation as unlawful. It stated that the IHC had directed the Islamabad police chief and interior secretary to register cases against police officials found to have occupied the flats by force.

The ministry disclosed that the CDA had pursued the matter through correspondence dated July 14, 2023, followed by reminders on September 20, 2023, and May 29, 2024. However, the flats had not been handed back to the authority when that parliamentary reply was prepared.

Notices and Recovery Operation in 2026

In June 2026, the CDA issued seven-day vacation notices to occupants it considered unauthorised. The notices cited the February 2023 IHC judgment, a Supreme Court order dated June 1, 2023, and a further order dated July 30, 2025, in review proceedings.

The authority subsequently began recovering possession. Reporting published on July 3 stated that the CDA had taken back 26 of the 200 flats. An independently verified total for any subsequent recoveries was not available in the material reviewed.

The latest petition brings the authority’s conduct during the eviction process under judicial scrutiny. While the CDA has relied on earlier orders to justify recovering its property, the current proceedings concern whether action against the petitioners breached the restraint order protecting them.