PHC seeks govt report on renaming Arbab Niaz Stadium after Imran Khan

The Peshawar High Court on Thursday heard a petition challenging the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s decision to rename Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium as Imran Khan Cricket Stadium and directed the provincial authorities to submit a report on the matter. A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Sadiq Ali Momand took up the case following arguments presented by the petitioner’s counsel, Ali Gohar Durrani. Durrani told the court that the renaming violated established guidelines issued by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Administration Department as well as provisions under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local Council Rules 1994. He argued that once a public place is named, it cannot be changed for 50 years under the rules. The Arbab Niaz Stadium, he said, was constructed in 1984 and initially named Shahi Bagh Cricket Stadium before being renamed Arbab Niaz in 1987. According to the lawyer, renovation work at the venue was completed in 2017, after which the decision to rename the stadium was made. Also read: Arbab Niaz Stadium officially renamed after Imran Khan Durrani further argued that administrative guidelines prohibit naming public assets after living individuals, adding that former prime minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan himself had expressed dissatisfaction with the renaming decision. During the hearing, Justice Syed Arshad Ali referred to earlier rulings by the Peshawar and Balochistan high courts that discouraged naming public places after living persons. The bench observed that the provincial government could consider constructing a new stadium and naming it as it wished instead of renaming an existing public facility. The court granted time to the provincial government to submit a report before the next hearing. Arbab Niaz Stadium remains the only international cricket venue in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It hosted 15 One Day Internationals and six Test matches between 1984 and 2006, with no international fixtures held at the ground since February 2006.