IHC to hear petition challenging entry fee for Islamabad's New Blue Area

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) is set to hear a petition challenging the imposition of a fee for entry into the New Blue Area of the federal capital.

Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir will take up the case tomorrow. The petition seeks to have the fee declared illegal and void.

The home secretary, Islamabad chief commissioner and administrator of the Metropolitan Corporation Islamabad (MCI) have been made respondents in the case.

According to the petition, New Blue Area houses commercial markets, corporate headquarters and restaurants. It states that the MCI is charging Rs100 for the use of the New Blue Area service road.

The petitioner argued that the charge is not a parking fee but a fee being collected from anyone using the service road. The petition further contends that the MCI is not providing any facility or service in return for the amount being charged.

The petition also maintains that charging a fee for entry into New Blue Area is in violation of decisions of higher courts and has requested the court to declare the practice unlawful.

The application was filed through lawyers Zohaib Gondal, Hazrat Younis and Hammad Saeed Dar.