AS Pakistan battles a variety of climate crises, state institutions must do all possible to defend critical ecosystems and habitats that play a key role in maintaining environmental harmony. In this regard, the Federal Constitutional Court’s view that the earlier rulings of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court against commercial activity in the Margalla Hills National Park were “an exceptional transgression of judicial power” is a matter of concern. The SC had ordered several eateries functioning in the park to be demolished. The FCC bench has sent the relevant petitions back to a civil court, while observing that the CDA — one of the petitioners — had jurisdiction over the MHNP.

It is hoped that this decision does not open the floodgates to commercialisation of a natural asset. Civil society has expressed concern over the intentions of vested interests regarding the Margallas. A few months ago, a former head of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board had claimed that a “nexus of bureaucrats” was working to restart commercial activities in the MHNP. Similarly, citizens have started a petition, which has received hundreds of signatures, highlighting fears that reopening the cases of the demolished restaurants could herald a return of commercial activity in the national park. These concerns cannot be brushed aside. The Margallas are described as ‘Islamabad’s lungs’, and are home to hundreds of animal and plant species. There is little doubt that mass-level commercialisation will threaten this ecosystem, while adding to the federal capital’s environmental woes as green cover is reduced and replaced by concrete. There is plenty of land to build commercial establishments; national parks and green spaces should be spared further destruction. Also, if the learned courts allow the return of commercial entities to protected spaces such as MHNP, it will set a negative precedent for the rest of the country, resulting in the despoiling of other vulnerable ecosystems.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2026