Rawalpindi Hotel Owner Challenges Orders to Close Businesses During Protests
A hotel owner has approached the Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court against orders by the district administration and police to close hotels during periods of protests.
Advocate Nazakat Hussain Abbasi, representing hotel owner Ahtisham ul Haq, filed the petition challenging what he described as verbal directions issued by local authorities for the closure of hotels.
Repeated Closures Raise Business Concerns
According to the petitioner, police and district administration officials have ordered the closure of hotels more than 20 times over the past year.
The petitioner also claimed that the latest closure order was issued for an indefinite period, creating further uncertainty for hotel businesses.
He argued that repeated shutdowns were putting additional pressure on businesses already facing difficult economic conditions. According to the petition, continued closures have made it difficult for the hotel to meet expenses such as electricity and gas bills, employee salaries and rent.
Officials Named in Court Petition
The Chief Secretary Punjab, Home Secretary, Deputy Commissioner and City Police Officer (CPO) Rawalpindi have been named as respondents in the case.
SP Rawal and the SHO of Pir Wadhai Police Station have also been included as respondents.
The petitioner has requested the Lahore High Court to restrain the administration and police from ordering further closures and to direct the immediate reopening of the affected hotels.
The case highlights the concerns of hotel operators in Rawalpindi over the business impact of repeated closures linked to security arrangements during protests. A hotel association had also recently said that its members were prepared to cooperate with authorities on security matters but opposed a general shutdown of hotels.
