Experts call for stronger protection of Margalla Hills National Park

ISLAMABAD: Environmental experts, policymakers, conservationists and legal practitioners have called for stronger protection of Margalla Hills National Park, stressing the need to enforce environmental laws and land-use rules more effectively around one of Pakistan’s most important ecological areas.

The call came during a webinar organised by Devcom-Pakistan on Monday to examine the Supreme Court of Pakistan’s ruling on the national park and the implications of an ongoing review petition before the Federal Constitutional Court. Participants said the case could prove significant for environmental governance in the country, with wider consequences for conservation policy and constitutional law.

Webinar focused on three key issues

According to the discussion outlined at the event, the webinar centred on three major dimensions of the Supreme Court ruling: environmental protection and conservation, the issue of environmental pollution, and encroachments inside Margalla Hills National Park. Speakers said all three areas required urgent attention if the integrity of the protected zone was to be maintained.

Those who spoke at the session included former adviser to the prime minister on environment and climate change Malik Amin Aslam Khan, WWF-Pakistan Director General Hammad Naqi Khan, former Pak-EPA director general and environmental specialist Asif Shuja Khan, Shakir Toor, Dr Pervez Hassan, Dr Amir Haider, environmental advocacy expert Ali Jabir, Naseer Gilani, former CDA director general Dr Sarwar Sandhu, Munir Ahmed and others.

Concerns over encroachments and pollution

During the discussion, participants highlighted the urgency of protecting the park from illegal occupation and other activities they said were undermining its ecological value. They said the Supreme Court’s decision had reinforced the centrality of environmental protection and underlined the need to remove unlawful encroachments affecting the national park.

Malik Amin Aslam Khan, in particular, reflected on the importance of the court’s ruling and drew attention to concerns linked to pollution and the weak management of facilities operating within and around the protected area. He stressed the need for better waste management arrangements and said commercial operations should not be allowed to damage the ecological character of the park.

Broader implications for environmental governance

Participants said the case went beyond a single protected area and should be seen as a test of how Pakistan applies environmental safeguards in practice. They said the outcome would carry implications not only for the future management of Margalla Hills National Park but also for the broader direction of conservation policy and environmental governance in the country.

The discussion concluded around the view that stronger implementation of existing legal protections, along with action against pollution and encroachments, was essential to preserve the national park as a key ecological asset.