IHC dismisses plea against decision to use hotels for quarantine purpose

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday dismissed a petition against the decision to use three and four star hotels for quarantine purposes in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak and declared it as non-maintainable.

IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah conducted the hearing. During the hearing, he remarked that in emergency situation and in larger public interest the government could use even his own home, and that the court could not oppose the measures adopted for the safety of citizens.

The counsel for local hotels, Sikandar Bashir, argued that the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) had decided to use the hotels for quarantine. He pleaded that the authority was not authorised to take such a decision.

He argued that the private property should not be used for the purpose, expressing his apprehension that who would stay in the hotels after being used for quarantine centres. The chief justice said the government was taking these decisions to safeguard the health and lives of citizens in this crucial time.

The court could not interfere in this matter as it was not an expert in dealing with the emergency situations. The court reserved its judgment on the maintainability of the case and later, dismissed the petition.