The Lahore High Court’s Rawalpindi Bench on Monday admitted a petition challenging the renaming of the 300-year-old, 60-kilometer-long Ban Karore Road, which links Rawalpindi with Kotli Sattian and Murree via Islamabad.
Justice Jawad Hassan issued notices to the Punjab Ministry of Local Government and the Murree deputy commissioner, directing them to submit written replies along with clause-by-clause responses to the petition.
Former chairmen of union councils in Kotli Sattian, including Azhar Abbasi, Raja Haroon, Abdul Quddus, Raja Saleem Satti, Abdul Manan, and Barrister Hamza Anwar, filed the petition.
They argued that while roads may be named after national heroes or martyrs, the law requires public notice and the invitation of objections from local residents before renaming historically significant roads.
The petitioners maintained that the name of an ancient and historic road cannot be changed solely through a Punjab Assembly resolution. They stated that the assembly resolution renamed the road as Air Marshal Raja Najeeb Road, even though the retired air marshal is alive, which they argued violates constitutional and legal requirements.
They further contended that no request for the name change came from local union councils or residents, and that the legal procedure for renaming historic roads was not followed. The court adjourned further proceedings after seeking responses from the relevant authorities.