ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday ruled in the Margalla Hills National Park case that neither the Remount, Veterinary and Farms (RVF) directorate of the army nor the General Headquarters (GHQ) have the legal right to own state land under the Constitution or the law.
According to the strongly worded ruling by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah, land is allotted for the use of the various branches of the armed forces and is managed and retained in accordance with the governing law’s plan and, that too, by the entities and public functionaries designated thereunder.
Other than as permitted by the Constitution and the aforementioned laws, neither the RVF Directorate nor the GHQ are permitted to own, acquire, or manage land provided for their use. The federal government allots the land for the branches of the armed forces to use in a specific and stated manner.
The federal or provincial governments, as appropriate, continue to be the owners of the land. The aforementioned laws specifically state that the nature or character of land designated for military use cannot be changed without the express consent of the federal government. Additionally, once the land is no longer being used for the intended purpose, it will, as appropriate, revert to the federal or provincial governments.
The federal government allocated the land for its use, and neither the Pakistan Army nor any other branch of the armed forces can claim ownership of it. In the event that the land is returned to the original owner after being used for another purpose, it is also ineligible to make any compensation claims. No matter what, neither the GHQ nor the RVF Directorate has locus standi to disobey the designated civilian authorities in charge of handling and managing lands.
The detailed order was issued more than six months after the IHC had made a brief ruling regarding petitions filed by Prof. Zahid Baig Mirza, a specialist in biodiversity, habitats, and ecosystems, and local residents who had called attention to the “lack of will” in the area.
The IHC ordered the CDA to seal the Monal Restaurant on January 11 and to take control of the Margalla Greens Golf Club, which had been built on the encroached property. It also deemed the military’s claim to 8,602 acres of the Margalla Hills National Park to be “illegal.” On March 8, the Supreme Court, however, ordered the IHC ruling regarding the sealing and seizure of the Monal Restaurant to be suspended.
The Pakistan Army was given access to the entire E-10 sector, and the IHC noted in its detailed order that the petitioners, who resided in a village outside of the sector, claimed that the army had infringed upon the Margalla Hills’ notified area.
Although there has recently been construction in the allotted sector, the CDA chairman informed the court that because of some unresolved land acquisition disputes, possession of the entire allotted sector had not yet been taken over. Once these disputes were resolved, the allotted land would be demarcated.
To prevent encroachment into the protected area, the defence secretary also promised on behalf of Pakistan’s Surveyor General that the notified area outside the land designated for the use of the Pakistan Army would be demarcated.
The IHC claimed that no activity of any kind could be carried out outside the boundaries of the E-10 sector and that doing so would constitute an illegal encroachment on state property subjecting the officials to civil and criminal sanctions, including those under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Act and the CDA Ordinance 1960.
The IHC noted that neither the Remount, Veterinary and Farms (RVF) Directorate nor the General Headquarters (GHQ) of the Pakistan Army had any authority over the 8,602 acres of the integral land inside the Margalla Hills that they claimed to be theirs and that the Punjab government had allotted through a notification dated April 23, 1910 for the purpose of producing “hay” for the army’s animals.
Thus, the court ruled that the GHQ or RVF directorate’s claim of ownership of the 8,602 acres of land in the Margalla Hills notification area was unlawful, made without proper authority, and violated the relevant legal framework.
The IHC noted that institutions were flagrantly breaking the law in disregard of the constitutionally intended system, and that this development made it clear that “state institutions felt compelled to act as a state within a state.” The judgement regretted that the authorities tasked by statute to prevent violations appeared to be “helpless or complacent,” and it added that the actions and stance of the RVF directorate and GHQ had serious repercussions for the rule of law.
According to the court order, “They acted on their own and in so doing they have seriously undermined the rule of law in derogation to their declared functions under the Constitution,” adding that the sanctity of the Margalla Hills’ protected and preserved notified area had been violated.
According to the judgement, the IHC anticipated that the federal government would carry out its duty to look into the situation and hold those responsible who decided to break the law by desecrating the sanctity of the Margalla Hills’ protected and preserved notified area and thereby violating the rights that are guaranteed to not only the present but also future generations.
