Rawalpindi Halts Kachehri Chowk Overhaul After Bar Association Objections

Overview

• Construction was paused after the Rawalpindi District Bar Association opposed demolitions at the District Courts complex, an adjoining mosque, kiosks and lawyers’ chambers.
• The government formed a four-member panel of revenue and cantonment officials and bar leaders to consider alternative sites and compensation for affected stakeholders.
• Before the halt, authorities marked land, began utility-related preparatory work and removed some old structures, including a 50-year-old petrol station, while securing plots from several institutions.
• The scheme, estimated at Rs6.4–6.5 billion and spanning about 2.5 km, would add flyovers and underpasses between Police Annex and University Chowk to ease flows at a junction serving over 200,000 vehicles daily.
• City Traffic Police had issued diversion plans and prepared a full closure of Kachehri Chowk once work started, but the launch timeline is now uncertain pending the committee’s outcome.