CDA Vows to Complete Islamabad's E-12 Sector Within Six Months After 37-Year Delay
The Capital Development Authority has accelerated development work in Islamabad’s E-12 sector after recovering more than 1,000 kanals of land that had remained occupied for decades.
CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner Sohail Ashraf said the authority aims to complete development of the sector within six months, a move that could finally end a delay stretching back 37 years.
The CDA launched E-12 in 1989, but development never finished. Local landowners occupied large portions of the acquired land, and several compensation cases remained stuck for years. The authority recently carried out an operation to reclaim the occupied land and has so far retrieved more than 1,000 kanals worth billions of rupees.
What broke the E-12 sector deadlock
According to the civic agency, the recovered land has removed the biggest obstacle to development, allowing infrastructure work to move forward. The CDA has also handed over around 15 allotment letters to local landlords and promised to resolve genuine outstanding compensation cases.
Development has already progressed significantly in three sub-sectors, and the authority has now shifted its focus to the stalled Sub-Sector 4. The plan covers roads, municipal infrastructure and other civic facilities for future residents.
Ashraf credited the CDA team and Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi for backing the land-recovery effort.
Why the six-month target matters
For the families allotted plots in E-12, the announcement ends decades of uncertainty. Many allottees have waited since the late 1980s to build homes on land they were promised, watching the sector sit idle while the rest of Islamabad expanded around it. If the CDA meets its six-month target, construction on houses, streets and utilities could finally begin in earnest next year.
The operation also signals a tougher line on encroachments. The authority says the recovered land, worth billions of rupees, had been held by occupants for decades despite being formally acquired. Clearing it required coordination between the CDA’s enforcement teams and the interior ministry, a model Ashraf suggested could be repeated in other stalled sectors.
Other sectors still waiting
E-12 is not the only project stuck over land disputes. Development also remains pending in sectors C-13, C-15, C-16, D-13, E-13 and F-13, where the CDA has yet to resolve compensation cases with landowners.
Why has E-12 been delayed for 37 years?
The sector was launched in 1989, but local landowners occupied the acquired land and compensation disputes dragged on for decades, freezing development.
How much land has the CDA recovered?
More than 1,000 kanals, worth billions of rupees, in a recent anti-encroachment operation.
When will E-12 development be complete?
CDA Chairman Sohail Ashraf says the authority aims to finish within six months.
Which other Islamabad sectors are still stalled?
C-13, C-15, C-16, D-13, E-13 and F-13, where compensation cases remain unresolved.
