Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reportedly sought an immediate report from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) on Tuesday, October 13, 2026, after concerns were raised that land allocated for two proposed public universities had been included in Islamabad's Margalla Enclave housing project. The request followed fresh reporting on a long-running dispute involving approximately 250 acres in the Kuri area, according to Dawn's October 14 report.
Dawn said the Prime Minister's Office had written to the CDA and that officials were preparing a response. The correspondence itself was not available for independent inspection. The reported action is a request for an explanation, not evidence that a formal inquiry commission has been appointed or that any official has been found responsible for wrongdoing.
Why was 250 acres reserved for universities?
The Higher Education Commission (HEC) reportedly acquired land from the CDA in Kuri for two proposed public-sector institutions: the University of Engineering, Sciences and Technology and the National University of Law. The reported allocation concerns university projects, not two completed or operating campuses.
The acquisition history needs qualification. Dawn's October 13 account places the purchase in 2007 and describes a payment of more than Rs1 billion. Its October 14 follow-up says HEC paid Rs1.3 billion in 2008. Without the original allotment and payment records, the precise sequence and amount cannot be independently reconciled. Both accounts describe the original land as measuring approximately 250 acres.
There is also a distinction between allotment and possession. Dawn reported in March 2025 that the CDA had not handed over physical possession of the original Kuri land because of a separate possession problem. That historical reporting helps explain the unresolved status but does not determine current ownership, boundaries or legal rights.
How Margalla Enclave became part of the dispute
Margalla Enclave describes itself on its project website as a joint development of the CDA and Defence Housing Authority (DHA) Islamabad. Dawn reports that land previously allocated for the proposed universities was included in the Kuri housing scheme, prompting objections from HEC officials.
An earlier government account presents a different position. In an August 20 report on National Assembly question hour, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said Parliamentary Affairs Minister Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry told lawmakers that CDA had not acquired any land reserved for educational purposes in DHA–Margalla Enclave. That ministerial statement differs from Dawn's subsequent account of the HEC allocation. Neither account alone establishes the disputed parcel's precise legal boundaries or current title; the original survey and allotment documents are needed to reconcile them.
There was an earlier plan to move educational sites from Kuri. In published minutes of its December 10, 2024 board meeting, the CDA approved in principle the relocation of universities and educational institutions from Kuri to Sector I-17, subject to planning and survey requirements. Those minutes separately address a 50-acre allocation to the National University of Medical Sciences. They do not, by themselves, establish that HEC accepted the replacement now under dispute.
The project's existence and the broader in-principle relocation decision do not establish a completed HEC-specific transfer or independently prove the exact boundaries, title status or current use of the particular 250 acres. Those questions require the original allotment, approved site plans and subsequent transfer documents.
Why is the proposed 40-acre replacement controversial?
Dawn's October 14 report says the CDA proposed 40 acres in Sector I-17 in place of the approximately 250 acres in Kuri. According to that account, 25 acres would be for the engineering university and 15 acres for the law university.
| Land described in reporting | Area | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Original Kuri allocation for two proposed universities | 250 acres | Reported earlier allocation |
| Engineering university replacement in I-17 | 25 acres | Reported proposal |
| Law university replacement in I-17 | 15 acres | Reported proposal |
| Total proposed replacement | 40 acres | Not independently confirmed as accepted |
On those reported figures, the proposed replacement is 16% of the original allocation by area, or 84% smaller. That comparison describes size alone; it does not determine whether the sites have equivalent legal status, market value or suitability for universities.
An earlier version of Dawn's October 13 article was corrected after misstating the total replacement area as 25 rather than 40 acres. In the October 14 account, 25 acres is the engineering university's reported portion of the 40-acre total. These are corrected news-report figures, not evidence that HEC has received or accepted a final 40-acre allotment; the signed HEC-specific offer has not been independently examined.
What have HEC officials said, and what did the PM request change?
According to Dawn, HEC officials rejected the smaller alternative at a meeting held at the interior ministry. The officials reportedly sought possession of the original Kuri land or another acceptable arrangement, and objected to a demand for additional payment. Those positions come from attributed reporting, not a publicly available signed HEC resolution.
The issue was also expected to be considered by the CDA board at its October 12 meeting, but sources cited by Dawn said it was not discussed because of limited time. Dawn subsequently reported that the prime minister sought an immediate CDA report on October 13. There is no independently verified final board decision, completed settlement or public finding of misconduct in the reviewed material.
What remains unanswered for the universities?
The dispute matters because land set aside for educational institutions has an intended public purpose. But the available documents and reports do not establish that campuses were operating on the site, how many students would have enrolled, or any precise financial loss arising from the delay. Nor do they establish that individual Margalla Enclave buyers have defective titles.
Several records would clarify what happens next: HEC's original allotment and payment documents, the CDA's approved maps and decisions covering the site, the written I-17 replacement offer, and the report requested by the prime minister. Until those documents or a final decision are made public, the most accurate status is that a CDA explanation has reportedly been sought and the university-land arrangement remains contested.
