Gun and Country Club: Cabinet Division proposes new management body to run affairs

ISLAMABAD: The Cabinet Division has proposed new management committee to run the affairs of Gun and Country Club Islamabad in the light of the Supreme Court orders, official sources told Business Recorder.

Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Inter-Provincial Coordination. For the 9th SAF Games, shooting ranges were developed on the premises owned by the PSB. In order to sustain and institutionalize the shooting range facilities, the Gun and Country Club was established through a resolution passed by the erstwhile Ministry of Sports in 2002.

The Supreme Court of Pakistan took Suo Motu notice of the allotment of land of the Gun & Country Club. The Court, in its order of July 9, 2018 ordered Ministry of IPC to take over Management of the club and appointed a Managing Committee.

The Court also held that since the resolution for establishment of Gun & Country Club was not issued by the Competent Authority, hence the resolution has no legal validity or sanctity. Subsequently on November 13, 2018, the Supreme Court appointed another Management Committee mostly consisting of private members. The tenure of Management Committee was extended upto November 19, 2020 in the order of September 23, 2020. Earlier Supreme Court, in its orders of May 19, 2020 directed that the Federal Government should endeavor to complete its process for proposing a lawful and practical legal frame work for the Management of the Club and the names/designation of the members of a fresh Management Committee to the court before the next date of hearing, which is November 19, 2020.

Pursuant to orders, following management committee has been proposed to run day- to-day affairs of the club: (i) Secretary, Ministry of IPC (Chairman); (ii) Naeem Bukhari - member (principal), Raja Muhammad Saleem - member (alternate); (iii) Mrs Maria Sharif - member (principal), Mrs Sarwat Salahuddin Khan - member (alternate); (iv) Lt Col Haroon Islam (R), member (principal), Najmul Kamal Hyder member (alternate); (v) Dr. Fahad Haroon Aziz-member (principal), Saeed Ahmad Qureshi - member(alternate); (vi) Syed Muhammad Irfan - member (principal), Farrukh - member (alternate); (vii) Ahsan Imtiaz Bhatti - member (Principal), Abdul Qadir - member (alternate); (viii) Chairman CDA (member) and; (ix) Director General, PSB (member/secretary).

This new list of Management Committee will be submitted to the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020