ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday ruled that all restaurants within the Margalla Hills National Park (MHPN), including Islamabad’s Monal Restaurant, must close.
The orders were given in response to a court order dated March 11 that requested the full property ownership record for the restaurant.
Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa presided over a three-person bench of the highest court, which considered the applications submitted by the Wildlife Department and the Margalla Hills-based Monal Restaurant.
Earlier on March 8, the supreme court suspended the Islamabad High Court’s (IHC) decision and ordered the cafe to remove its seal.
The Capital Development Authority (CDA) was requested by the court to provide original documentation pertaining to the 8,600 acres of MHPN land.
The court was told by the extra attorney general that the Military Estate Office maintains ownership of the land.
The top justice did note, however, that the land is owned by the Pakistani government and not the military. He added that someone had posed a straightforward question about who owned it—the CDA or someone else.
The regulator’s report was rejected by the supreme court at today’s hearing, but the head of the CDA was immediately summoned.
According to CJP Isa, the court had asked the CDA for information about Monal and other eateries.
