Islamabad High Court Puts Conditions on Auction of 20 Playgrounds in the Capital Following Court Verdict

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has made the auction of 10 cricket and 10 football grounds in the federal capital conditional with a court decision. Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas of the IHC heard the case against the outsourcing auction of the grounds scheduled on July 18. The petition was filed by former Chairman Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad Sardar Mehtab Ahmed Khan, represented by lawyer Adil Aziz Qazi, who argued that the playgrounds were meant for common citizens and should be managed by the MCI, not the CDA. The court issued notices to the CDA and MCI and made the auction conditional on its decision.

Another petition has been filed by Abu Bakr Bin Talat, President of the Rawalpindi Islamabad Sports Journalists Association (RASJA), challenging the CDA auction. He stated that under the Islamabad Local Government Act, playgrounds cannot be outsourced for commercial purposes. He emphasized that demanding money to play in the grounds would limit citizens' access and that the maintenance of cricket and football grounds in Islamabad should be the responsibility of the Metropolitan Corporation. The court may rule that the maintenance of the grounds and provision of sports facilities are the prerogatives of the MCI.

According to the source: Associated Press of Pakistan.