Supreme Court orders audit of Gun and Country Club in capital

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday ordered early completion of audit process of the Gun and Country Club that provides state-of-the-art rifle shooting facilities consisting of indoor and outdoor ranges in the federal capital.

A three-member bench of the apex court headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard a suo motu case regarding the allotment of land worth billions of rupees by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to the Gun and Country Club, Islamabad at a throwaway price.

The court directed to complete the audit of the Club from December 2, 2019 to June 2022 and held that the relevant authority should decide the lease issue of the land between the Club and the CDA.

During the hearing, the additional attorney general informed the court that they are not being provided details pertaining to weapons of the Club, adding that the respective committee was reluctant to conduct the audit of the Club.

Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that expenses incurred on tea during the one meeting of secretary Inter-Provincial Coordination, who is also the Chairman of the Committee, were Rs416,000. “During the meetings of the Supreme Court, we ourselves bear the expenditure of food and tea,” he added.

The CJP remarked, “It is learnt that even Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah did not allow serving of tea and biscuits during the meetings from national exchequer.” Advocate Naeem Bukhari, a member of the Club’s committee, told the court that the internal audit of the Club is being made every year, adding that Faisal Sakhi Butt, Danyal Aziz and Khuram Khan were appointed on political grounds in the previous tenures.

The counsel for Club submitted before the court that the Committee wanted to make payments of Rs1880 million to the CDA. Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial observed that they wanted to protect the national assets, adding that the government should make early legislation and take control the administrative affairs of the Club.

The CJP observed that one of the members of the bench didn’t want to hear the case and adjourned the hearing till February next year. It is pertinent to mention here that the apex court in 2018 had declared that the Gun and Country Club, Islamabad is illegal.

“The Club has no legal standing,” former chief justice Mian Saqib Nisar had said while hearing a case related to the Club and the construction of a marriage hall on its premises. “The land, on which the Club has been established, belongs to Pakistan Sports Board and the people took membership of the Club at their own risk,” the chief justice had asserted, adding that there is no legal approval for the construction of the Club.

The court had also nullified the notification issued during the reign of Pervez Musharraf for the establishment of the Club. It directed the Sports Board to “take over land”, on which the Gun and Country Club is established as well as the marriage hall constructed on the premises.

The Gun and Country Club was established in 2002 at the foot of Shakarparian Hills. The Club provides state-of-the-art rifle shooting facilities consisting of indoor and outdoor ranges. It is located within the area allocated to the Pakistan Sports Complex, just minutes away from the Zero Point.