Daily Times

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday directed the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to demolish Naval Sailing Club near Rawal Lake in Islamabad, declaring the construction illegal.

Chief Justice Athar Minallah announced a short verdict which was reserved by the bench last day after listening to arguments from respondents at length. The court ordered the civic body to demolish the illegal structure within three weeks and also sought the implementation report. The order stated that it was not the mandate of the institutions to get them involved in real estate business.

The name of the institution couldn’t be used for the business, it added.

The order further said that CDA was not authorized to issue NOC for the said construction. The navy had exceeded its possession in area of national park.

The court also ordered an action of misconduct against those responsible for construction of the club. Justice Minallah said the military had an important status that was mentioned in the Constitution. The top judge ruled that the navy did not have the authority to undertake a real estate venture. The IHC said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) was not empowered to issue a no-objection certificate (NOC) to the Pakistan Navy, as the institution had encroached on the National Park land. The inauguration of the club by the former naval chief, Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi was also declared unconstitutional by the court.

The court ordered to initiate “criminal” and “misconduct” proceedings against the former navy chief and others responsible for the construction of the “illegal” sailing club.