The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, the Cantonment Board Clifton (CBC), the Defence Housing Authority (DHA), and other respondents on a petition challenging the alleged commercial use of a public park in the DHA area.
Petitioner Wali Ahmed submitted that construction activities were being carried out for the establishment of a private gym within Zamzama Park, a public recreational space. He contended that, according to advertisements, the gym was not intended to operate as a regular public park facility accessible to all visitors. Instead, it was being developed as a restricted, fee-charging, membership-based commercial facility for its customers.
The petitioner further stated that a separate entrance and access point had been created on the adjoining street next to Masjid Noor-ul-Islam, including the installation of a separate gate opening towards the mosque side boundary.
He argued that the street was already heavily congested during prayer timings, resulting in traffic jams and obstructions. The diversion of gym-related traffic through the area, he said, would create a nuisance, pose safety hazards, and materially interfere with access to and movement around the mosque and surrounding locality.
The petitioner apprehended that if the activity was not stopped, the public character and utility of the park, a public amenity space, would be significantly impaired through commercialisation, including the introduction of a membership-based facility and the diversion of traffic through the mosque-side entrance. He further submitted that the alleged commercialisation of the park and the proposed traffic diversion adversely affected his rights and those of other residents. According to the petition, commercial exploitation of a public park within a residential neighbourhood would increase non-residential footfall, traffic congestion, and disturbances, while undermining the privacy and security of local residents.
The petitioner requested the court to declare the commercial activities at the public park illegal and restrain the official respondents from diverting traffic through the mosque boundary area.
A division bench of the SHC, headed by Justice Mohammad Saleem Jessar, after a preliminary hearing, issued notices to the CBC, DHA, and other respondents and called for their comments.
