The Capital Development Authority (CDA) has installed three retired brigadiers at the helm of three of its most sensitive directorates, in a reshuffle that tightens the military’s growing footprint into the capital’s civilian administration.

The authority’s Human Resource Development (HRD) Directorate issued three separate office orders on Tuesday, appointing the officers as Director Generals in Basic Scale 20. The postings, approved by the CDA chairman, take effect immediately and will remain in force until further orders.

Brigadier (Retired) Muhammad Javed Iqbal, who had been awaiting a posting, has been named Director General Civic Management, putting him in charge of the authority’s civic affairs. Brigadier (Retired) Rashid Manzoor takes over as Director General Planning and Development, with a mandate covering the CDA’s planning and development portfolio. Brigadier (Retired) Muhammad Azhar Khan has been appointed Director General Land and Estate Management, overseeing the authority’s land and estate affairs.

The three appointments follow the authority’s recent recruitment of the retired military officers through a special hiring process — a move officials describe as an effort to bring experienced hands into the CDA’s administrative structure.

The HRD Directorate has directed the newly posted officers to submit their charge assumption reports to complete the formalities of their appointments.

Observers note that three of the authority’s key operational wings — civic management, planning, and land — now sit under officers drawn from a single background, raising questions about how the special recruitment channel fits within the CDA’s regular promotion structure.

The appointments come as the CDA also escalates enforcement action against illegal construction in the capital, including a recent warning to seal madrasas operating in Islamabad without approved plans.