Pindi Bar blocks Kachehri Chowk uplift

The Rawalpindi District Bar Association has objected strongly to the Rs6.5 billion Kachehri Chowk Underpass and Flyover Project, prompting an immediate suspension of construction work on one of the city's most significant infrastructure schemes intended to ease chronic congestion along Mall Road.

The lawyers' association has adopted a 'resolute and uncompromising stance', opposing the demolition of sections of the District Courts complex, including lawyers' chambers, kiosks, and an adjoining mosque, which are situated within the project's alignment. Their protest has brought the entire initiative to a standstill.

In an effort to defuse the deadlock, the government has formed a four-member committee to address the concerns of the District Bar and affected stakeholders. The committee comprises the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), Assistant Commissioner (Cantonment), President of the District Bar Association, and the Bar Secretary. It has been tasked with identifying alternative sites and exploring options for financial compensation to those displaced by the scheme.

District Bar President Sardar Manzar Bashir and Secretary Malik Asad Mahmood told The Express Tribune that the association would not tolerate any attempt to forcibly demolish parts of the District Courts premises or the structures within it.

"This project includes the demolition of the mosque, 10 kiosks, 20 lawyers' chambers, the entire Hamza Block, half of the Executive Block, and the Habib Bank property. No entity will be permitted to demolish these without our consent," said Bashir.

Owing to the Bar's protests and threats of wider agitation, all project activities have been temporarily suspended.

According to the Punjab Highway Department, the project aims to redevelop Kachehri Chowk into a modern underpass and flyover system to improve traffic flow through one of Rawalpindi's busiest intersections, which accommodates nearly 270,000 vehicles daily.

Initial groundwork — including land demarcation and demolition of old structures — had already begun prior to the suspension. A 50-year-old petrol station has been dismantled, with possession of the land secured. Plots belonging to Fatima Jinnah Women University, the Civil Defence Department, and the Local Government Department have also been acquired for the project.

The scheme requires approximately 36 kanals of land, most of which is government-owned and linked to institutions such as Fatima Jinnah Women University, the Pakistan Army, the Commissioner's Office, and the Income Tax Department.

According to Sub-Divisional Officer Musab Ali of the Highway Department, the project will span 2.5 kilometres, with the first phase - involving utility relocation — expected to begin within a week. The development forms part of a wider signal-free corridor connecting Koral Chowk to Motorway Chowk, aimed at alleviating long-standing traffic bottlenecks in the city's core routes.

The redevelopment of Kachehri Chowk, together with the underpass on Iftikhar Janjua Road and the flyover and underpass at Jinnah Park Chowk, represents a major stride towards modernising Rawalpindi's road infrastructure, promising smoother, safer, and largely signal-free travel for daily commuters.