IHC sets aside Naval farm verdict
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has set aside the judgment of a single-member bench which in 2022 declared construction of the Naval Sailing Club and the Pakistan Naval Farms illegal, and ordered misconduct and criminal proceedings against a former naval chief.
A division bench comprising Justice Inaam Ameen Minhas and Justice Shahrukh Arjumand on Wednesday allowed intra-court appeals filed by the Ministry of Defence and former naval chief admiral Zafar Mahmood Abbasi against the single-bench judgment.
The division bench further annulled the directions concerning an assessment of the alleged loss to the national exchequer and recovery of the amount from officers found responsible.
It also set aside the finding that the transfer of land for the Pakistan Naval Farms in the name of the Pakistan Navy Headquarters office was illegal.
Barrister Ashtar Ausaf Ali, Sardar Ahmad Jamal and Abdul Waheed Qureshi appeared on behalf of the appellants. The additional attorney general, assistant attorney general and counsel for the Capital Development Authority assisted the court.
A bench comprising former IHC chief justice Athar Minallah on January 7, 2022 ordered the demolition of the Naval Sailing Club and declared Pakistan Naval Farms illegal. It had also directed proceedings against the former naval chief for alleged misconduct and criminal liability.
The IHC had ruled that the Pakistan Navy had no jurisdiction or authority to directly or indirectly engage in real estate venture and the building of its sailing club on the embankment of Rawal Lake.
The court had also declared the Pakistan Navy Farms illegal and ordered the federal government to take action against the former naval chief for his involvement in the projects. The court had also annulled the NOC issued for the Pakistan Naval Farms.
"The name of Pakistan Navy, nor of any State institution, can be used directly or indirectly for a real estate venture having no concern with the functions of such an institution or department," read a 45-page judgment authored by Justice Minallah.
Justice Minallah, later elevated to the Supreme Court in November 2022, handed in his resignation together with SC senior puisne judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on November 13, 2025 hours after the contentious 27th Constitutional Amendment was signed into law by President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday.
Both judges had called on Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi in separate letters to summon a full court meeting and judicial conference to hold a debate on the 27th Constitutional Amendment.