IHC Rejects Pakistan Navy’s Petition Against Demolition of Sailing Club

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) said on Thursday that the Pakistan Navy could not directly challenge the court’s decision about the demolishment of the Navy Sailing Club.

A two-member bench of IHC, comprising Justice Amir Farooq and Justice Mian Gul Hassan Aurangzeb, was hearing two petitions filed by Pakistan Navy against the IHC’s directives to raze illegal naval establishments in Margalla Hills.

The court ruled that the Pakistan Navy needed to follow proper procedure in order to challenge the court order and file a petition through the secretary of defense.

During the course of the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel argued that IHC, in its brief verdict on 11 January, had issued directives to demolish the sailing club. “The Pakistan Navy was not given any notice, nor was it a party to the case,” the counsel said, adding that the navy was not heard.

To this, Justice Hassan remarked that Pakistan Navy may be an affected party, but only the federation could file an appeal as per the procedure.

“Everyone undoubtedly respects the armed forces, but they cannot file directly without the secretary of defense,” the court said, questioning if the Attorney General of Pakistan could file an appeal in a personal capacity after leaving the office.

Subsequently, Pakistan Navy withdrew both of its appeals, which will be filed once the corrections required are made.

It is worth mentioning here that Chief Justice IHC Athar Minallah had ordered the demolition of the naval golf course located in the Margalla Hills National Park area within four weeks.

IHC had also ruled that The Monal restaurant, a scenic eatery in the Margalla Hills, was to be sealed. The court had asked the Ministry of Defense to ensure that the amount received in rent was deposited in the national exchequer.



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