Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said on Wednesday that the One Constitution Avenue hotel in Islamabad will be brought online as a five-star property in the coming months, returning the landmark near the convention centre to the hospitality role for which it was first cleared.
The pledge came after the federal cabinet accepted findings from a joint investigation team (JIT) — a multi-agency probe panel — into the long-running dispute around the scheme. At a briefing in the capital, Naqvi said the endorsement lets the state secure lawful control of the site and move quickly toward reopening it for guests.
Probe cleared, possession tightened
Naqvi told reporters that the Capital Development Authority (CDA), Islamabad’s civic planner and regulator, already showed the building under its charge in official files. Cabinet backing of the JIT outcome, he argued, supplies the missing legal footing for that control.
He said the CDA’s member for administration would take charge of day-to-day affairs at once. The priority, according to the minister, is to get rooms open for business without delay.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal, speaking with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar and Minister of State Talal Chaudhry at another briefing, said the cabinet had approved the JIT file on irregularities tied to the project. Separate coverage of the same day also framed the panel’s work around alleged fraud; Naqvi’s own remarks focused on restoring hotel use and settling dues.
Global brand and guest rooms
Officials intend to invite a leading international hospitality company to run the One Constitution Avenue hotel. Naqvi pointed to Islamabad’s thin supply of quality rooms and said he expects a management deal to be wrapped up soon.
“We will make every effort to convert this building into a five-star hotel within the next few months, which was its original purpose,” he said.
He also promised that anyone the JIT listed as owed money would be paid. He thanked Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif for standing by an earlier decision to seize the premises despite public criticism, and said the state would apply the law evenly, without regard to wealth or status.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- First approval: planners cleared the site for a five-star hotel, the use Naqvi says the government is restoring.
- Earlier seizure: the government took hold of the premises, a step that drew criticism Naqvi acknowledged on Wednesday.
- 4 September 2025: photographs show the unfinished complex standing near Islamabad’s convention centre.
- Wednesday (4 November 2026): the federal cabinet endorses the JIT findings; Naqvi announces the five-star revival and a search for a global operator.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Islamabad ki One Constitution Avenue building ko sarkar paanch-sitara hotel banana chahti hai. Cabinet ne investigation ki report man li hai, is liye ab qanooni qabza mazboot ho gaya. CDA building sambhale gi aur bari foreign hotel company se baat hogi. Jin logon ko paise milne hain, unhen muawza dene ka wada kiya gaya hai.
