In light of Pakistan’s claims at the recent global environmental conference COP 19 and at the water conference in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan is one of the most impacted countries of climate change; one would expect the government would pretend it cares about protecting the national park in its capital at the very least.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan directed the Islamabad wildlife management board to demolish all polluting restaurants in the Margalla National Park in the capital. They began this task to depollute the national park. A master plan for regreening the area with an interactive information centre to connect with the citizens of the city is ongoing.
Winning this case against those who wanted to cement the Margallas with polluting restaurants which were constantly expanding was a hard and protracted battle carried out by a conservationist group, a dedicated board of individuals, whose singular focus (without any pay) is to protect the heart and soul of Islamabad – the Margalla National Park areas. The encroachers and cement/building mafia cannot see the wonderful natural habitat as the life blood of 2.5 million residents, but only for the real estate potential it holds or income generation opportunities through polluting the natural home of wildlife and a complex eco-system that keeps Islamabad green. This gift of nature is under constant threat because it is in the middle of the most expensive real-estate in the country.
Before the shameful 26th amendment was passed by an allegedly illegitimate parliament which effectively disabled the highest court of appeal from protecting Pakistani citizens fundamental rights, enshrined in the constitution, the very court had declared every citizen had the right to clean air, as it is linked to right to life (article 9) and in Islamabad that is fed by our national park.
On the 11th of July 2024, a three-member bench of the Supreme Court Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan and Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa set aside the CDA’s grant of a lease to mega-restaurants located in the Margalla Hills National Park. The Court held that the creation of restaurants in the middle of a protected National Park went against Section 21 of the Islamabad Wildlife Ordinance, 1979. Since then, the IWMB has also successful lobbied and facilitated the Wild life Act 2023 which itself saw several attempts to circumvent, obstruct and even disappear the ACT from coming into operation.
Civil society groups in the capital will continue to struggle against the nefarious designs from various state quarters to undermine the landmark judgement to protect the Margalla Hills
The challenges that citizens with a conscience face, even when the task is for the greater good, is mind-boggling. We have a situation where the ministries and other government departments mandated to protect not destroy the welfare of the residents of the city/country have become party to the problem. What should the citizens do?
After the landmark judgement, Islamabadis could breathe a sigh of relief that their Margallas were safe. But this is Pakistan, where perpetrators – unless punished for transgressions are not meted – try again and again.
I am writing this piece to bring this public matter to the attention of Islamabadis, but also for the other concerned citizens across Pakistan. We live in very gloomy and uncertain times, and there is a fog of despondency and depression on almost all aspects of our lives, but civil society groups in the capital will continue to struggle against the nefarious designs from various state quarters to undermine the landmark judgement to protect the Margalla Hills.
Now we hear that a move is afoot in the Ministry of Climate Change to sack the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board. Using the recently enacted Islamabad Nature Conservation and Wildlife Management Act 2023 as a pretext, the government is considering de-notifying the Board’s present members and bringing in its own nominees. The Islamabad Nature Act of 2023 was supposed to strengthen the Board and not sabotage it! The Board is currently busy preparing a Master Plan for restoring and re-wilding the approximately 80 kanals of land retrieved from the illegal occupation of commercial entities such as Monal and La Montana, as directed by the Supreme Court.
We hope the Ministry of Climate Change will not take any sudden decision that would adversely impact the Board's ability to complete the take assigned to it by the Supreme Court.
Perhaps we may not be able to see a government for the people by the people anytime soon, but we can certainly stand up for the air and environment we live in, in that struggle we are all the losers.
The citizens of islamabad will not sit and watch their city become victim of climate predators.