AGP assures that the transfer of the Wildlife Board to the Interior Ministry will be halted, and the dismissal of the board chairperson has been stayed. In a high-profile case regarding commercial activities in Islamabad’s Margalla National Park, the Supreme Court has expressed strong criticism of the park’s management and recent administrative decisions.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa, leading the bench, questioned the constitutionality of these decisions, asserting that the Constitution had been undermined. He expressed disbelief that the Interior Ministry had been assigned oversight of the park, stating that such a responsibility should not fall within its jurisdiction.
“Bureaucrats are servants of the people. We have yet to abandon the old mindset. We can issue a contempt notice to the cabinet secretary,” he remarked, emphasizing that the Constitution had become a mockery. “Is it the role of the Ministry of Interior to manage the National Park?”
He sarcastically noted that while police and law enforcement agencies had eliminated terrorism, they were now expected to oversee the park, suggesting that everything, including education and health, might as well be handed over to the Interior Ministry. “Peace has been established in the country, so now the Interior Ministry will protect the national park.”
The Chief Justice criticized the government’s approach, highlighting that the management of the park had been transferred without following proper procedures.
When asked by the CJP who ordered the transfer of the Wildlife Board to the Interior Ministry, the climate change secretary stated that no summary had been sent by the Climate Change Ministry; it was a decision made by the Prime Minister. When CJP Isa inquired about the removal of Wildlife Board chairperson Rina Saeed Khan, the secretary indicated it was decided by Prime Minister’s Coordinator Romina Khurshid Alam.
However, Ms. Alam interjected, stating she had not requested the removal. In response, CJP Isa remarked that either the secretary or Ms. Alam was lying. “Did someone from high authorities call, or did a call come from ‘khalai makhlooq’?” he questioned. “Should the National Park be handed over to the Interior Ministry?”
