CHAKWAL: The inspection of Civil Club Chakwal carried out on Saturday on the order of the Lahore High Court stunned the counsel for the petitioner, club members and local journalists as a structure raised recently was found to have disappeared.

The historic club was sealed by the district administration on April 22 this year. The sealing prompted the club president to file a writ petition before the LHC Rawalpindi bench which on April 28 ordered maintenance of the status quo.

On Oct 20, Justice Tariq Mehmood Bajwa ordered inspection of the Civil Club after hearing a contempt application filed by Ch Asad Masood Khan, president of the club, through advocates Hassan Raza Pasha and Wajih Hassan against Deputy Commissioner Sarah Hayat, Additional Deputy Commissioner (General) Bilal Bin Abdul Hafeez and Chief Officer Municipal Committee Fayyaz Haleem Hashmi.

The petitioner alleged that despite the status quo ordered on April 28, the Municipal Committee Chakwal on Sept 30 advertised a tender for installation of cabin cafes for a food court worth Rs16.4 million and on Oct 13-14 chopped down 25 trees inside the club and started construction of washrooms in its under-construction gymnasium.

An FIR was also registered at Saddar Police Station over the chopping down of trees inside the club premises. The FIR was registered against the assistant of the petitioner and two employees of the club. However, a local court discharged the assistant, terming the FIR as mala fide on the part of the chief officer Municipal Committee, while the two employees managed to obtain pre-arrest bails.

This correspondent also witnessed construction work on washrooms being carried out on the premises of the club on Oct 16 and 17, while on Oct 21 the walls of the washrooms were completed.

However, the district administration denied any construction and also claimed that it did not chop the trees.

Due to this contention, the LHC ordered Advocate Hassan Raza Pasha and the ADCG to personally visit the site on Oct 24. As Mr Pasha, along with the petitioner and other members of the club, and ADCG Bilal Bin Abdul Hafeez, accompanied by his subordinates, visited the site yesterday, the washroom walls raised a couple of days ago were not found there.

Sources told Dawn that the walls were demolished overnight and the ground was levelled.

During the inspection, Mr Pasha showed the ADCG photographs and videos taken a few days ago showing labourers constructing the washroom walls. The ADCG responded that he could also get such pictures made with the help of AI.

Mr Pasha replied: “Allah has given you authority, you draw salary from our taxes, serve the citizens, do not oppress them.” The ADCG said: “I have no magic to make walls disappear in one night.” Mr Pasha kept pointing towards the bricks lying at the site, but the ADCG insisted: “Talk about the spot. No construction is going on at the spot.” The next hearing is scheduled to be on Oct 29.

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2026