The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has officially set aside the Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) blanket ban on the registration, transfer, and mutation of properties in multiple areas of Islamabad’s Zone-III, including Shah Allah Ditta, Sangjani, and Sara-e-Kharbooza. Justice Muhammad Asif ruled that the administrative and verbal embargo imposed by the authorities lacked statutory backing and legal authority. The case stemmed from a petitioner who was blocked from selling his ancestral land to meet household and medical expenses after the CDA unlawfully expanded a previous 2023 court order. While that original judicial directive was strictly meant to halt illegal housing schemes, executive authorities wrongfully extended it into a sweeping freeze on all legitimate private transactions.

In its detailed judgment, the court emphasized that executive bodies must always operate within the limits prescribed by the Constitution and their governing statutory frameworks. The IHC noted that while preserving Islamabad’s Master Plan and curbing unauthorized construction are essential public duties, they do not give the CDA the right to suspend or extinguish the fundamental property rights of ordinary citizens. The ruling sharply criticized the administration for penalizing all local landowners indiscriminately instead of taking targeted enforcement action against actual violators. By declaring the blanket ban null and void, the court has fully restored the legal right of private individuals in these areas to execute bona fide property sales and transfers.