Seal off Monal Restaurant today, rules IHC
- IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah also orders the CDA to immediately seal Navy Golf Course
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered on Tuesday to seal off Monal Restaurant and Navy Golf Course immediately, Aaj News reported.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard a case related to encroachments in Margalla Hills National Park. During the hearing, the judge was informed that Monal Restaurant had been sealed twice in the past, but reopened.
The court ordered Chief Commissioner Amer Ali Ahmed to seal off the restaurant after which officials from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) went to seal it. The IHC also sought a report from the Environment Protection Agency on the damages caused by construction on the national park.
Meanwhile, the bench also ordered the CDA to immediately seal the Navy Golf Course, saying that the Pakistan Navy encroached the land for the club. The high court has also ordered an inquiry into it.
Last year, the IHC observed that the federal government, the CDA and the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board appear to have been complacent in the destruction of the notified areas of the "National Park" and the "Wildlife Sanctuary".
It directed Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Climate Change Amin Aslam, Secretary Ministry of Climate Change and chairman CDA to jointly survey the notified areas of the "National Park" and the "Wildlife Sanctuary" and submit a report highlighting the damage caused to the hills.
The chief justice said, "They are also expected to take immediate measures to save the notified area from further harm."
"The officials shall forthwith ensure that no construction takes place nor any illegal activity is carried out within the notified areas of the National Park," he added.
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