Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has overturned a 2022 judgment that had declared Pakistan Naval Farms and the Pakistan Navy Sailing Club along Rawal Lake illegal.
A two member division bench comprising Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Shah Rukh Arjumand accepted intra court appeals against the earlier judgment issued by former IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
The court also set aside the previous order directing the demolition of the Navy Sailing Club and removed findings of misconduct and directions for criminal proceedings against former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.
The bench further overturned directions requiring the Auditor General of Pakistan to determine any loss caused to the national exchequer and recover the amount from officials found responsible.
It also reversed the earlier finding that the transfer of land for the Naval Farms to Pakistan Navy Headquarters was illegal.
The appeals were filed by the Ministry of Defence, Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other petitioners against the single bench judgment.
Advocate Ashtar Ausaf represented Admiral Abbasi, while Sardar Ahmed Jamal and Abdul Wahid Qureshi also appeared for the petitioners.
The 2022 judgment had resulted in a series of directions concerning the legality of the projects, the use and transfer of land and accountability of officials involved.
The latest decision removes those findings and directions at the appellate level, marking a significant change in the court’s position on the legal challenges surrounding the naval facilities.
The ruling brings an important chapter in the long running legal dispute over the use of land around Rawal Lake to a new stage, with the earlier declarations and related accountability measures no longer in effect following the division bench’s decision.
