Pakistan's Federal Constitutional Court has overturned two landmark Supreme Court rulings that led to the demolition of major commercial and residential properties, reigniting demands for accountability from thousands of families who lost homes, businesses and life savings.
The court, within the past week, struck down Supreme Court decisions that ordered the demolition of Karachi's Nasla Tower and other buildings deemed illegal, as well as Islamabad's Monal Restaurant in the Margalla Hills. It ruled that the Supreme Court had exceeded its constitutional jurisdiction in both cases.
The latest ruling came Monday, when the Federal Constitutional Court accepted appeals filed by the Capital Development Authority and the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad, setting aside the Supreme Court's order to demolish Monal Restaurant and lifting the stay order in the case.
The decision comes 22 months after Monal and other commercial structures were demolished. On June 11, 2024, then-Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa ordered the removal of Monal and other businesses, citing environmental protection. Demolition work began in September 2024.
The court's July 10 ruling on Karachi's encroachments case has drawn even greater attention because it reversed Supreme Court orders issued on Dec. 21, 2018, and Jan. 22, 2019, along with actions taken under those directives.
The constitutional court ruled that the Supreme Court had improperly exercised its suo motu powers during appellate proceedings without fulfilling constitutional requirements, making the orders an overreach of judicial authority.
The original rulings, issued during the tenure of former Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, led to the demolition of Nasla Tower, Tajoori Heights, Aladin Park and its adjoining Pavilion End Club, Royal Park Residency, Global Banquets near the FTC building, and dozens of other structures. Homes built on decades-old leases along Gujjar and Orangi nullahs were also razed.
The campaign also halted construction of numerous housing projects that remain unfinished years later. According to Kamran Khan, millions of Pakistanis, including many living abroad, invested trillions of rupees in those developments and suffered heavy financial losses.
Khan said thousands of families had followed legal procedures and verified official documentation before investing, only to see their properties demolished by court orders years later.
He argued that the rulings reflected a broader failure of governance in which government officials, authorities issuing no-objection certificates, agencies facilitating land occupation and other powerful actors escaped accountability, while ordinary citizens bore the consequences.
"For years we demanded accountability for those responsible for creating this tragedy," Khan said. "But neither the courts nor the government have held anyone accountable, and the same system continues to operate."
Khan said the constitutional court's decisions raise difficult questions for those affected.
"Will changing judicial decisions also change people's destinies?" he asked. "Will demolished buildings be rebuilt? Will closed businesses reopen? Will families who lost their homes recover their lifetime savings?"
The program featured comments from Barrister Abid Zuberi, former president of the Supreme Court Bar Association and counsel for the petitioner in the Nasla Tower case.
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