KARACHI: The 38-acre Askari Amusement Park was on Thursday finally handed over to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation by the military authorities in line with a Supreme Court order. It was renamed as ‘KMC Park’ for “a couple of days”.

The park was built on the land after shifting of the city’s popular fruit and vegetable market (Sabzi Mandi) to its new place along Superhighway. The ‘New Sabzi Mandi’ was opened to the public in June 2018.

Sources in the city’s municipal administration told Dawn that the park would be renamed as ‘Kashmir Park’ on Saturday (Feb 5) when the nation observes ‘Kashmir Day’.

A team of senior KMC officials – the director general of parks and horticulture department and senior directors of the corporation’s estate and legal departments -- took the control of the park from senior officers and engineers of the 5 Corp.

To be renamed as ‘Kashmir Park’, it reopens today to general public

DG Parks Junaid Ullah Khan on the occasion said that the park would be reopened on Friday (today) and that entry to it for the general public would be free.

The apex court on Dec 27, 2021 had directed the military authorities to hand over the Askari Amusement Park to the KMC within two weeks.

A two-member SC bench comprising then Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Qazi Mohammad Amin had issued the order at its Karachi registry while hearing the case relating to ownership of the park.

The apex court had directed the KMC administrator to take control of the park and open it to the public. The court had also issued directives for the demolition of the shops and a marriage hall established on the park’s land. According to the military authorities, the land was given to them on a 99-year lease.

The bench had further directed the KMC to remove all commercial structures from the premises and get all such activities there stopped to ensure that the park was fully meant for the general public.

A citizen had moved SC submitting that the land of the park actually belonged to the KMC and an agreement for the adoption of the land was made between the then city district government and the military authorities in 2005 for the development and maintenance of a park on the land. The petitioner informed the court that commercial activities such as wedding hall business were being carried out on the premises of the park.

On Jan 14, the KMC had written a letter to the Askari Park management informing it of the court order regarding handing over and taking over of the park under KMC’s supervision.

Commenting on the delay in the process, the DG parks said that the city’s municipal administration had been coordinating with the former management of the park over the last 15 days to complete the administrative and legal formalities in this regard.

He said the former administration handed over the park to the KMC after demolishing the marriage hall that existed on the premises.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2022