Development Push Threatens Margalla Hills Ecosystem
APP
Islamabad: Environmental experts, conservationists and legal practitioners have warned that decades of environmental degradation, encroachments and weak enforcement continue to threaten Margalla Hills National Park, urging authorities not to dilute protections secured through a landmark Supreme Court ruling.
Speaking at a webinar organised by the Development Communications Network (Devcom-Pakistan), participants expressed concern that ongoing review proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court could potentially weaken safeguards designed to protect one of the country’s most important ecological assets.
The speakers described the Supreme Court’s verdict as a milestone in environmental governance, saying it exposed long-standing failures in regulating land use, preventing illegal construction and protecting the park from commercial interests.
Former prime minister’s adviser on climate change Malik Amin Aslam said the ruling underscored the urgent need to remove illegal encroachments and halt activities that continue to damage the park’s ecosystem.
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He warned that pollution, poor waste management and inadequately regulated infrastructure projects remain serious threats despite the existence of environmental laws and conservation policies.
WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan said implementation remained the weakest link, arguing that clear court directives alone would not protect the park unless government agencies took concrete action against violators.
He noted that Margalla Hills National Park hosts nearly 40 percent of Pakistan’s documented bird species as well as key wildlife, including the common leopard, yet continued to face pressure from unchecked development and encroachments.
Participants criticised weak coordination among government institutions responsible for managing and protecting the park, calling for accurate demarcation of boundaries and the removal of illegal occupations.
Describing the park as the “lungs of Islamabad”, experts warned that rapid urbanisation, commercial expansion and unauthorised construction were steadily eroding the protected area’s ecological value.
The discussion also highlighted concerns over growing pressure to permit commercial and tourism-related projects within the park. Experts cautioned that any relaxation of land-use restrictions could set a dangerous precedent and undermine conservation objectives.
Former Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) director general Asif Shuja Khan called for parliamentary scrutiny of the issue, suggesting that the matter be taken up by the National Assembly’s relevant standing committee to determine whether existing protections are being adequately enforced.
Former CDA director general Dr Sarwar Sandhu stressed strict adherence to the park’s master plan, while environmental expert Naseer Gilani said a persistent gap between environmental policies and their implementation had enabled misuse of planning provisions and weakened conservation efforts.
The webinar concluded with calls for stronger institutional accountability, stricter enforcement of environmental laws and a renewed commitment to protecting Margalla Hills National Park from encroachments and unsustainable development.
