Justice Azhar Hassan Rizvi Rules The Supreme Court Denied Monal’s Management Due Process, Sending The Case Back For A Fresh Hearing
According to the Islamabad Post, Pakistan’s newly formed Constitutional Court, headed by Justice Azhar Hassan Rizvi, has declared the demolition of the iconic Monal Restaurant in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills illegal in a landmark ruling delivered on July 13, 2026.
The court found that the previous Supreme Court judgment ordering Monal’s closure and demolition violated basic principles of natural justice and denied the restaurant’s management their fundamental right to due process, including the right to appeal. The case has now been sent back to the lower courts to be decided fresh, strictly on legal merit.
The original demolition order came under then Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who ruled Monal and neighbouring establishments were illegal structures inside Margalla Hills National Park. The move backfired spectacularly.
For over a decade, Monal served as a primary cultural ambassador for the capital, hosting state guests and foreign dignitaries. Its destruction drew global condemnation from overseas Pakistanis who rightly called it a self-inflicted wound on a tourism sector that can barely afford more.
This ruling does not restore Monal yet but it tears down the legal fig leaf that justified bulldozing it in the first place. Check out our previous coverage of Pakistan affairs on The Trusted Times.
