Following Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) directive, the Capital Development Authority has reversed the ban on property transfer.
A letter from Additional Director Land Affectees, Riaz Khan, has confirmed the revocation of the ban initially imposed in January 2024 by the Deputy Director General Land.
Before the official ban on property transfers linked to land affectees was enforced in January 2024, an unofficial transfer restriction had already been in place for several months. Initially, the ban targeted the transfer of properties allocated to land affectees during the tenure of former Member Estate, Afnan Alam Khan.
However, it extended to numerous other cases, causing uncertainty for hundreds of buyers. The CDA distributed its plots through open auctions or allocated them to affected individuals, who later sold them on the open market.
These individuals were those whose land was acquired by the CDA, and they received plots as compensation. While the transfer of plot ownership through open auctions proceeded smoothly, the process was paused for plots allotted to land-affected persons.
This led to strong protests from the Real Estate Agents Association, who voiced their concerns at the civic authority’s premises regarding the ban on transferring titles in the land affectees’ sector.
Despite the association’s efforts, their grievances were not addressed even after meetings with Chairman CDA, Captain (Retired) Anwar-ul-Haq, and the then Member Estate.
The Real Estate Agents’ Association emphasized the need to identify specific instances of wrongdoing and hold those responsible accountable, rather than halting the entire process. Following this, some individuals approached the Islamabad High Court, which directed the civic authority to immediately begin transferring properties to private individuals, asserting their undeniable right to ownership.
Despite the issuance of a notification by the CDA, realtors remain skeptical of the authority’s intentions, suspecting that the notification was issued under pressure from the court.
They expect further clarity on the matter in the upcoming days. According to an insider, the withdrawal of the ban, initially imposed by the DDG Land and revoked by a junior officer like the Additional Director Land Affectees, raises suspicion. This suggests a reluctance from higher management to fully comply with court orders.
Former Member Estate Afnan Alam Khan, along with several other officers of the land and rehabilitation directorate, faced an investigation by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) over a scandal. This scandal involved the alleged fraudulent allotment of land worth billions of rupees in sector E-11.
However, rather than concentrating solely on particular cases, the anti-corruption watchdog has sought comprehensive details of all allotments, plot location changes, and other relevant information from the CDA during his tenure.
