Zartaj Gul says no official order yet to demolish Monal Restaurant

Islamabad: Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has clarified that so far there is no official order or instruction issued for demolishing Monal Restaurant, a popular eatery in the Margalla Hills.

Taking serious note of her misquoted statement in a section of the press regarding demolishing of the restaurant, she termed the reports baseless, which has been associated with her that there is any official order for knocking down the restaurant.

She referred to a Federal Cabinet and the present government’s stance that all illegal activities including restaurants should be prohibited/banned, the state minister Zartaj Gul explained. She further said that in its order dated May 19, 2020, the Supreme Court Justice Gulzar Ahmed has already remarked that the protected Margalla Hills, which spread from Islamabad to Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are declared as a National Park and Heritage site and no part of this area could therefore be allotted to any private individual for commercial activity or a private residence.

The Supreme Court chief justice also declared in the order that all these constructions illegal and against the spirit of the MHNP, and should be stopped and demolished, the state minister added.

On May 19, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) and the Chief Commissioner’s Office had sealed the Monal Restaurant for illegally felling trees for its expansive construction activities, terming all kinds of construction activities in the park area is illegal.