ISLAMABAD: In response to an appeal submitted by the Messrs. Monal group of firms, the Supreme Court on Monday questioned how Margalla Hills National Park (MHNP) could be transformed into a grassland for the military.
A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa heard an appeal from the Monal group against an Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruling dated January 11, 2022, which directed the government to seize and seal Monal Restaurant, which is located atop the picturesque Margalla Hills.
The administration was also requested by the court to provide a declaration identifying the “actual owner” of 8,600 acres of land at the MHNP.
The Jan. 11 IHC directive to the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) to seize ownership of the restaurant and shut its premises was revoked by the Supreme Court on March 8, 2022.
directs the administration to provide a statement proving the “true owner.”
The lease between the Monal Restaurant management and the CDA had ended, the high court had ruled. Additionally, an agreement between Monal Restaurant and the Remount, Veterinary and Farms Directorate (RVFD), a military wing operating under the Military Estate Officer (MEO), signed on September 30, 2019, was deemed null and void by the IHC.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa questioned the RVFD’s legal status on Monday and was informed that it was a division of General Headquarters (GHQ). The CJP questioned how these elements were included in the agreement, noting that only a legal body was able to file a reply before the Supreme Court.
The land was owned by the CDA and would not be transferred to any other organization, attorney Arafat Ahmed told the supreme court.
“Government owns land, not the army.”
Perceiving hesitation on the part of the government attorney concerning the ownership issue, the CJP noted that the land is solely the government’s and not the army’s.
Representing Monal Restaurant, attorney Salman Akram Raja argued that RVFD claimed ownership of the land where the restaurant was located and that the matter should be the focus of a civil suit to ascertain the true owner.
He added that his client was routinely paying the relevant court’s rent each month. Nonetheless, the attorney stated that he would be pleased if the CDA was recognized as the owner.
Salman Raja acknowledged that the CDA was responsible for giving the Monal Restaurant management control over the land in response to a court query.
Bench member Justice Irfan Saadat Khan questioned whether the petitioner was requesting a ruling that the Monal management, rather than the CDA, was the legitimate lessee of RVFD.
The management did not have the authority to select its tenants, according to Chief Justice Isa. The CJP noted that since the restaurant’s possession had become unlawful due to the lease’s expiration, it was currently in violation of the law.
The restaurant’s right stems from the CDA, but Justice Isa stated that the management had ruined the case by entering a plea in opposition to it. “This is a typical instance of a suicide bomber.”
Salman Akram Raja recalled that the organization had made significant investments on the property and cited a computer-generated letter from the Defence Division asserting that RVFD is the rightful owner of the land because it was delineated in 1901 in the directorate’s favor.
However, the CJP claimed that the letter lacked a signature and requested that the attorney provide documentation proving the land’s RVFD allocation.
If the lands were allotted in 1901, the petitioner ought to include King Charles of Britain as a respondent in the action, the CJP said.
“Prove to me that 8,600 acres of land are military property by presenting one entitlement or land registry,” the CJP said. “I hope this isn’t another instance of a gun to the head.”
“It’s a case of taking over possession of lands by the military from CDA,” Justice Saadat stated.
According to the CJP, “the court can call even the former army chief to ask him when this meeting was held if nobody knows anything and no document was placed.” The Pakistani people own this land, not the armed forces.
