KARACHI: The counsel for Sarfraz Ahmed Cricket Academy on Friday assured the Sindh High Court that it would not cause any obstruction of the students and staff of an adjacent college in parking their vehicles.

The two-judge bench headed by Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi was hearing two petitions, one filed by the principal of Government Girls College located in North Nazimabad Block N and other by cricketer Sarfraz Ahmed.

The lawyer undertook that the academy would not cause any obstacle to students, their parents and staff in any manner in parking their vehicles.

The bench said that its earlier interim order asking the authorities concerned not to create any hindrance in the use of a cricket ground would continue till the next hearing.

Initially, Pakistan’s cricket team former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed had petitioned the SHC and contended that he, along with other members, was active in running the operations of an academy to provide cricket coaching facilities to local neighborhood. He asserted that the then mayor of Karachi had handed over the ground to the petitioner in 2017 after he won the Champions Trophy-2017.

However, he alleged that the college management took over the ground after demolishing the grills surrounding it and allowed its staffers, students and visitors to park their vehicles there.

Thereafter, college principal Haseen Fatima also filed a petition and argued that the ground in question belonged to the college and Sarfraz Ahmed Academy was illegally running a cricket club on it.

Contending that the ground in question was an amenity land as per the master plan, she pleaded for removal of ‘the encroachments’ from the ground.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2022