ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday ordered the to seal the Monal Restaurant built at the Margalla Hills National Park area.
Chief Justice Athar Minallah orders Commissioner Islamabad to seal the popular restaurant while hearing a case of encroachment in Margall Hills National Park. The judge questioned the status of Monal restaurant, saying it should be not have been built on the protected area.
“It should be sealed if the lease has lapsed,” the chief justice said. The court ordered chief commissioner Islamabad to seal the restaurant with immediate effect. “No one is above the law. I know how the court’s orders are enforced,” he said.
The climate change secretary, who was present during the hearing, called for Islamabad’s master plan to be made public. The judge said the court will protect the wider public interest.
Justice Minallah said rules applied to the three wings of the armed forces and asked whether they were being implemented. The judge said the concerns of the defence secretary should also be heard and the law should be strictly implemented.
The court remarked that commercial activities on the land of the Islamabad Hills National Park can’t be allowed at any cost. The attorney-general said that the transfer of the land has not taken place. Justice Minallah expresed his displeasure and stressed that no one is allowed to even cut grass from the park.
He pointed out that the national park has been regularised and exploited to the point of destruction. “Who’s responsible for it? The poor people can’t enter the park, it’s the elite who are ruining it. It’s the elite who encroach upon land and then get it regularised.”
The court ordered Islamabad Capital Territory Chief Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed to seal off Monal Restaurant today. The Environment Protection Agency was directed to submit a report on the damages caused by construction on the national park.
The IHC also ordered the CDA to take over the Margalla Greens Golf Club today. The court also declared illegal the Military Farms directorate’s claim over 8,000 acres of land, ordering that they should be considered part of the national park.
