Islamabad High Court Sets Aside Demolition Order for Naval Sailing Club
Division bench comprising Justice Inam Amin Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand accepts appeals against the 2022 single-bench judgment concerning Pakistan Naval Farms and the Naval Sailing Club at Rawal Lake.
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has set aside a major 2022 judgment that had declared Pakistan Naval Farms and the Naval Sailing Club near Rawal Lake unlawful and ordered demolition of the sailing club building.
A division bench comprising Justice Inam Amin Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand accepted appeals challenging the January 7, 2022 judgment delivered by then IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
The earlier judgment had held that Pakistan Navy had no lawful authority to undertake the PN Farms venture and had ordered the demolition of the Naval Sailing Club within three weeks. The 2022 ruling also contained directions concerning former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi, including initiation of criminal proceedings and action over alleged misconduct. The original judgment is available in the IHC record and was widely reported at the time.
Earlier Directions Against Former Naval Chief Overturned
According to the latest decision, the division bench has now set aside the challenged single-bench judgment, effectively overturning the directions relating to the Naval Sailing Club, Naval Farms and the former naval chief.
The appeals had been filed by the Ministry of Defence, Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other parties. Former Attorney General Ashtar Ausaf appeared on behalf of the former naval chief, while Sardar Ahmad Jamal and Abdul Wahid Qureshi were also among counsel representing the appellants. The federation was represented by the additional and assistant attorneys general, while counsel for the Capital Development Authority also appeared.
The 2022 judgment had directed that the Sailing Club building be demolished and had called for criminal proceedings against the former naval chief and other officers considered responsible for its construction and inauguration. It had further directed the federal government to proceed against Admiral Abbasi over acts and omissions described in that judgment as misconduct.
Those findings had subsequently been challenged through intra-court appeals. During earlier appellate proceedings, counsel Ashtar Ausaf had argued that the single bench had granted relief and issued directions that had not been sought by the original petitioners, while questioning the maintainability and scope of the judgment.
Auditor General, Naval Farms Directions Also Set Aside
The latest ruling also sets aside the earlier directions concerning an assessment by the Auditor General of alleged loss to the national exchequer and recovery from officials held responsible.
Similarly, the earlier finding concerning the transfer of land for Naval Farms in the name of an office at Pakistan Navy Headquarters has been overturned along with the underlying single-bench judgment.
The decision represents a significant reversal of the January 2022 ruling, which had generated considerable attention because it addressed the legality of the two projects and the extent of institutional authority over land and development activities in Islamabad.
