ISLAMABAD – Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi has said the government has taken possession of One Constitution Avenue, while the federal cabinet has approved the joint investigation team (JIT) report on the matter. He said the building would be converted into a five-star hotel in the next few months.
Addressing a press conference, Naqvi said state land in Islamabad had been encroached upon, and that this had happened because of people within the Capital Development Authority (CDA). He said that, according to the JIT report, everyone would be paid what is due to them.
The interior minister said he had received the prime minister’s full support on the issue and was grateful for it. He said the government would have the building’s value assessed by a multinational company for the hotel project, because the government cannot run a hotel itself.
Naqvi made it clear that state land would be recovered at all costs and that no one would be shown leniency. He said land was also being cleared in Islamabad’s sectors C-14, C-15 and C-16.
He said pressure is exerted during anti-encroachment action, but the CDA chairman carried out the operation and the government supported him. The aim, he said, was not merely to take action but to see it through to its logical conclusion.
The interior minister also responded to reports about his staff. He said he had one chief security officer, one personal staff officer and one director with him, whereas former interior minister Chaudhry Nisar had six PSOs. Naqvi urged people not to rely solely on social media reports, adding that if a list of 28 people were presented to him, he would accept it.
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