Islamabad Capital Territory

Islamabad | ReNews Pakistan

A subcommittee of the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Broadcasting has recommended that the government provide journalists and media workers across Pakistan with access to easy loans under the prime minister’s housing scheme to help meet their residential needs.

The meeting was chaired by subcommittee convener Senator Syed Waqar Mehdi and attended by committee member Senator Jan Muhammad. Discussions covered journalists’ housing needs and matters relating to plot allotments.

Mehdi recommended that journalists and media workers affiliated with press clubs throughout the country be given access to the prime minister’s housing loan facility. He identified the facility as a means of helping the media community meet its housing requirements.

The recommendation calls on the government to facilitate access to the existing housing loan facility. The supplied account of the meeting did not specify loan amounts, financing rates, repayment periods or application procedures.

The subcommittee also considered plot allotments for journalists. Mehdi called for the earliest possible verification of the list of journalists already submitted to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) for this purpose.

He stressed the need to scrutinise the list to prevent duplicate allotments. The recommendation sought faster verification of the previously submitted names so that checks against allotment records could be completed promptly.

Access to housing loans and verification of the plot allotment list are separate elements of the subcommittee’s recommendations. The meeting details did not announce government approval or a final timetable for providing loans or allotting plots.

Islamabad | ReNews Pakistan

The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has recovered 1,133 kanals of state land in Islamabad’s residential Sector E 12. According to the authority, the land, worth billions of rupees, had remained under illegal occupation for approximately 40 years, obstructing planned infrastructure development.

CDA enforcement teams carried out the operation with the support of the Islamabad district administration and police. The exercise was intended to secure possession of public land and make it available for development in accordance with the sector’s approved plans.

CDA Chairman Sohail Ashraf said protecting state land and ensuring that development meets approved standards remained key priorities. He said work was being taken forward to provide essential infrastructure in the sector.

The authority said development activities on the recovered land were being accelerated to support progress against project timelines. Securing the land is an important step towards constructing roads and other planned infrastructure.

Development in E 12 has faced prolonged delays. The inability to obtain possession of land required for roads and infrastructure has been among the obstacles affecting progress in the residential sector.

The precise benefits for individual plots, streets and access roads will become clearer as work advances. For allottees, the status of their specific plots and the surrounding infrastructure will remain central to assessing progress.

Land recovery does not, by itself, establish that development across the entire sector is complete. Completion of roads, sewerage, electricity and other services, along with the issuance of plot-specific possession letters, involves separate stages requiring confirmation through relevant CDA records and announcements.