Islamabad High Court Overturns 2022 Ruling Against Naval Farms, Sailing Club
ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — WEB DESK: The Islamabad High Court has overturned a landmark 2022 single-bench judgment that declared Pakistan Naval Farms and the Naval Sailing Club near Rawal Lake illegal, setting aside a series of consequential orders including the planned demolition of the sailing club and directions for proceedings against former naval chief Admiral (retd) Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.
A two-member division bench comprising Justice Inam Ameen Minhas and Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan—[Note: source needs exact bench verification]—accepted appeals filed against the earlier ruling, according to current reporting.
However, the Express report identifies the division bench as Justice Inam Ameen Minhas and Justice Shah Rukh Arjumand. The latter composition is therefore the one supported by the source reviewed and should be used pending the publication of the full appellate judgment.
The appeals had been filed by the Ministry of Defence, former naval chief Zafar Mahmood Abbasi and other parties challenging the January 2022 single-bench judgment.
Division Bench Sets Aside 2022 Judgment
The division bench overturned the earlier judgment issued by then-IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, who in January 2022 had ruled against the Naval Farms and Naval Sailing Club projects.
The new decision also sets aside the direction requiring the Naval Sailing Club building to be demolished.
The 2022 ruling had ordered the sailing club on the Rawal Lake embankment to be demolished within three weeks, holding that its construction was unlawful. The court at the time also held that the Pakistan Navy did not have authority to undertake a real-estate venture.
Wednesday’s appellate decision reverses those findings and consequential directions contained in the single-bench judgment.
Orders Against Former Naval Chief Also Overturned
Importantly, the division bench also set aside the 2022 directions for misconduct and criminal proceedings against former naval chief Zafar Mahmood Abbasi.
The original judgment had directed the federal government to take action against Abbasi and other officials over their involvement in the projects. It had also described the former naval chief’s inauguration of the sailing club as unconstitutional.
Those were judicial directions rather than criminal convictions against Abbasi — an important legal distinction.
Wednesday’s ruling therefore overturns orders to initiate such proceedings; it should not be described as the reversal of a criminal conviction because the 2022 judgment itself had not convicted the former naval chief of a criminal offence.
Auditor General Directions Set Aside
The appellate court also overturned the earlier direction requiring the Auditor General of Pakistan to assess losses allegedly caused to the national exchequer and recover money from officials found responsible, Express reported.
In addition, the division bench set aside the finding concerning the transfer of land for Naval Farms in the name of the Pakistan Navy Headquarters office.
Former attorney general Ashtar Ausaf Ali represented Abbasi during the appellate proceedings.
Other lawyers appearing for appellants included Sardar Ahmed Jamal and Abdul Wahid Qureshi, while additional and assistant attorneys general appeared for the federation along with counsel representing the Capital Development Authority.
What the 2022 Judgment Had Ruled
The dispute has its origins in litigation concerning construction and real-estate activities associated with Pakistan Navy facilities in Islamabad.
On January 7, 2022, a single bench headed by then-IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah ruled that the Pakistan Navy had no jurisdiction to directly or indirectly engage in real-estate ventures unrelated to its constitutional functions.
The 45-page judgment declared the Naval Sailing Club illegal and ordered its demolition within three weeks. It also ordered the Capital Development Authority to take over the Naval Farms land.
The judgment found that the Navy had occupied land on the Rawal Lake embankment within a protected national park area and held that the sailing club could not be regularised because of its location in what the court described as an ecologically sensitive area.
It also directed the Navy to cease activities on Rawal Lake and ordered steps aimed at restoring the surrounding natural habitat.
The 2022 decision consequently attracted significant attention because it dealt not only with planning and environmental questions but also with the constitutional limits on commercial activities undertaken by state institutions.
Appeals Followed 2022 Decision
The original ruling was challenged soon after it was announced.
In January 2022, a division bench considered intra-court appeals challenging the decisions relating to the Naval Farms, sailing club and golf club. At that stage, the court raised questions about the legal mechanism through which the Pakistan Navy could itself initiate civil proceedings without federal government approval.
Residents of Naval Farms also challenged the ruling, arguing that they were lawful purchasers and had been adversely affected without being heard.
The Ministry of Defence, Abbasi and other parties were among those whose challenges ultimately led to Wednesday’s appellate ruling.
Legal Effect of Latest Ruling
The central effect of the September 2 decision is that the 2022 single-bench judgment and the consequential orders identified in the appellate ruling have been set aside.
That includes the earlier declaration against Naval Farms and the Sailing Club, the demolition direction, orders relating to proceedings against Abbasi and the direction concerning assessment and recovery of alleged losses.
The ruling should nevertheless be described carefully.
It is more precise to say the Islamabad High Court’s division bench overturned the 2022 single-bench judgment than to broadly state that every planning, environmental or land-use question surrounding the projects has necessarily been resolved for all purposes.
The detailed legal reasoning of the appellate judgment will be particularly important in establishing how the division bench addressed the constitutional, environmental, jurisdictional and procedural findings contained in the original ruling.
For now, the confirmed development is substantial: the 2022 judgment declaring Pakistan Naval Farms and the Naval Sailing Club illegal, along with several of its major consequential directions, has been overturned by the Islamabad High Court’s appellate bench.
