ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday linked the outsourcing of cricket grounds of the federal capital with the nod of local government (LG) representatives, saying that the fate of these grounds would be decided by the elected officials.

IHC Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan was hearing a petition filed against the outsourcing of six cricket grounds by the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI).

The corporation had issued an advertisement to outsource management, operation, and maintenance of six cricket grounds – G-8/2 (old Diamond Cricket Ground), Bhutto Cricket Ground G-7/1, Margalla Cricket Ground G-9, National Cricket Ground F-7, Marghazar Cricket Ground Saidpur Village and Shalimar Cricket Ground, main Margalla Road, F-6.

Following the release of the advertisement, expressions of interest (EOI) were invited from the companies/firms registered with Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as per the deputy commissioner.

Islamabad local bodies polls to be held on Dec 24

Adil Aziz Qazi, counsel for the petitioner, argued before the court that the Islamabad administration was renting out the cricket grounds which would render them financially unfeasible for young players.

He said the administrator of MCI had issued a notification to outsource these grounds on Sept 8.

He argued that the administrator could not outsource the playgrounds since this was the domain of the elected mayor and asked the court to defer the process till the local government elections, likely to be held in about a month. He further said that an administrator, who had been appointed for a very short period, could not outsource cricket grounds for two years.

During the hearing, Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon said the process of outsourcing the grounds had been stopped following the announcement of the local bodies elections, adding that the government notified the schedule for upcoming LG elections which would be held in Islamabad on Dec 24.

Justice Khan ruled that after the election, the elected members of the local government would decide the fate of the cricket grounds and disposed of the petition accordingly.

LG elections

Elections in Islamabad were long overdue as the last local government completed its five-year term in February last year. The elections should have been held within four months, but the government and the ECP failed to conduct polls in the stipulated time.

After the inordinate delay, the ECP issued the schedule to hold elections in 101 union councils of Islamabad last week.

According to the schedule, on November 1, the ECP will issue a public notice inviting nominations and will give five days, from Nov 7 Nov to 11, for filing the papers. Similarly, after completing various phases, the ECP on December 1 will allot symbols to the contesting candidates and polling will be held on December 24.

Earlier this year, the ECP had issued a schedule to hold the elections on July 31, but all major political parties had filed court cases, demanding an increase in the number of union councils from 50 to 101.

Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2022