The Supreme Court (SC), on Wednesday, directed the provincial government to relocate the National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) from the premises of the Hindu Gymkhana, a heritage building in Karachi.
While hearing the case in SC’s Karachi registry, Justice Gulzar expressed dissatisfaction with the government’s inability to provide a justification as to why NAPA offices had not been shifted from the recognised heritage site to another venue.
The Sindh additional advocate general told the bench that the government could not find any land to utilise for its own offices. Justice Gulzar expressed displeasure over this explanation and directed , “NAPA should be shifted to the premise of Sindh Chief Minister (CM) if needed, but a heritage site cannot be used in this manner,” he said. The bench then inquired what the government was doing to shift NAPA from the Hindu Gymkhana premises. “The government will start constructing commercial plazas everywhere if things continue this way,” remarked Justice Gulzar Ahmed. He reiterated that the provincial administration government would have to vacate the premises and shift NAPA to a different location. Asking the Sindh government to submit a reply on shifting of NAPA to another location, the apex court subsequently adjourned the hearing to a later date.
The Hindu community in the metropolis has long been fighting a legal battle to have the heritage building restored and returned to them so that it can be utilised for cultural activities and religious festivals. The Sindh Provincial Culture and Tourism Department first issued a notification in 2008 to the NAPA management to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana, within whose premises NAPA is located but the case has now dragged in the courts for almost a decade. Since independence of Pakistan in 1947, the Hindu community of Karachi had been struggling to acquire possession of Gymkhana, which was known to host the elite of the community since 1921.
Published in Daily Times, December 20th2018.
