PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has summoned the provincial forest secretary and director general of the Galiyat Development Authority (GDA) over their failure to implement its order of restoring forest boundaries in Dunga Gali area of Abbottabad.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Babar Sattar issued notices to the provincial forest secretary and GDA DG, directing them to appear in person to explain why its express orders haven’t been complied with.

It fixed June 10 for next hearing into a petition filed by the Galiyat Tahafuz Movement against multiple notifications of the last caretaker government in the province of appointing members of the GDA Board and the subsequent actions of the board and its DG, including facilitating formation of a high-rise building on a ‘disputed land’ called Hilda Estate.

The bench pointed out that the court had in its order on Nov 25, 2025, issued clear directions to the secretary forest, climate change and wildlife to constitute a high-powered committee chaired by himself, with members from the revenue department, a representative of the Joint Water Board, and the GDA’s DG.

Fixes next hearing into plea of Galiyat Tahafuz Movement for June 10

“The committee was tasked with restoring the forest boundaries established by the Survey of Pakistan in its reports of 2015-16 and 2020-21,” the bench observed.

It, however, observed that the present report submitted by the committee suggested that the Survey of Pakistan should be requested to conduct a fresh survey, claiming that the boundaries couldn’t be identified.

“This report appears to be a sham exercise and violates the clear order of this Court. It is needless to mention that the Survey of Pakistan’s reports were available to the committee. The committee has wasted the Government’s time and failed to perform its official obligations,” it observed.

Advocate Babar Khan Yousafzai appeared for the petitioner, who has challenged three of the notifications issued by the caretaker government, one on Aug 4, 2023, and two others on Feb 22, 2024, for the appointment of six GDA board members.

The petitioner claimed that the caretaker government had overstepped its jurisdiction provided under the Constitution of Pakistan and the Elections Act.

It also claimed that Hilda Estate Dunga Gali had remained disputed for over seven decades, with contestation dating back to the pre-partition era.

The Galiyat Tahafuz Movement added that the GDA in a board meeting on Jan 14, 2025, proceeded to grant approval for the map of Hilda Estate, notwithstanding the fact that multiple official communications had explicitly determined that the survey of the subject land was unauthorised.

It claimed that the government had falsely stated that the Survey of Pakistan had conducted a lawful demarcation of the Hilda Estate. However, no records of any lawful public notice inviting all stakeholders to participate in such a process exist, according to him.

Last year, a report was submitted by the concerned forest magistrate to the court wherein he stated that the demarcation of boundary pillars had not been carried out in accordance with the law.

The forest secretary had also submitted a detailed report, stating the initial survey demarcation of the Galiyat Reserved Forest was carried out in 1871 by erecting loose stone boundary pillars, whereas in 1882, permanent masonry pillars were erected and their positions were confirmed in 1904 during the second regular settlement.

The report added that many boundary pillars were either lost or shifted over the past several decades, while the actual demarcation didn’t align with the revenue maps or field conditions for various reasons. Later, the forest department requested the Survey of Pakistan to conduct a fresh survey with the objective of identifying and restoring missing, shifted or dismantled boundary pillars using modern technology.

The report claimed that results were alarming as 7,616 kanals of encroached land were identified, of which 6632 kanals were retrieved, while 984 kanals remained disputed and under litigation.

It added that the exercise was carried out in 2015-16 but in 2020-21, another survey was conducted by the Survey of Pakistan , which revealed 1,017 kanals of encroached land, out of which 744 kanals were retrieved, while 243 kanals remained under encroachment due to litigations. About the Hilda Estate, the report provided that an application was submitted by one Mohammad Imtiaz concerning its demarcation.

It, however, noted that in the guise of the said demarcation, an attempt was made to encroach upon adjacent forest land and upon spot inspection the survey report was found to be unsatisfactory.

In light of the report and that of the special magistrate, the court had observed that it appeared that the GDA, along with certain unscrupulous elements, had left no stone unturned in destroying the ecology and environment of Galiyat, in addition to encroaching upon forest land.

“Not only in the present case, but it has also been observed that the GDA is permitting the mushroom growth of multi-storey hotels on land not earmarked for commercial or industrial purposes. The beauty, tranquility, calmness and ecology of this hill station have been disturbed, resulting in adverse impact on the environment,” it had observed.

The court later ordered a survey of the Hilda Estate and the adjacent areas and restoration of the forest boundaries established by the Survey of Pakistan in its 2015-16 and 2020-21 reports.

Last year, the court issued a stay order, declaring that neither any construction should be raised nor any allotment should be made in the disputed property.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2026