NAPA defies Pak SC directive, refuses to vacate from Hindu Gymkhana in Karachi

Karachi: Despite a directive from Pakistan's Supreme Court, the country's National Academy of Performing Arts (NAPA) appears to be in no mood to vacate the Hindu Gymkhana, a protected heritage building situated here that was rented to it in 2005 by the local Hindu community, a media report said on Monday. 

The local Hindu community, represented by Shri Ratneshwar Maha Dev, has been actively demanding NAPA's evacuation from the building, for which they had approached the court.       

The apex court in November 2021 while hearing the plea of Dev, had directed the district administration to relocate the academy at an appropriate time, according to The Express Tribune newspaper. 

They were also instructed to demolish the auditorium constructed by them, but the



academy continues to defy court orders, the report said.      Although NAPA is our tenant, we have been complying with court orders and have found an alternate venue for the academy's relocation. It is in the Jinnah Cultural Complex in North Karachi, but NAPA is sticking to its guns about being provided with a prime location in the city's downtown area, which is too audacious,” Pakistan's Director-General Culture Abdul Aleem Lashari was quoted as saying in the report. 

In 2008, the culture department had slapped NAPA with a notice for the termination of the agreement directing them to vacate the premises. However, as per the director-general culture, it [NAPA] got a stay order from the court, occupied the building, and refused to leave, the report added.