07/10/2025
FIA registers FIR against Ex-IWMB chief Rina Saeed Khan over corruption allegations.
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Agency has launched search operations at several locations to arrest the accused. The case has drawn significant attention, as it highlights growing concerns about transparency and misuse of foreign aid under the guise of environmental conservation projects in Pakistan. Rina Saeed had managed to delay legal proceedings by obtaining a stay order. However, after detailed investigations, the FIA moved forward with registering the case, sources said.
According to reliable sources, Saeed allegedly transferred large sums of donor funds into her personal accounts, leading to financial irregularities and the closure of various wildlife-related projects.
She is also the one who was behind closure of iconic Monal restaurant. In connivance with her friends in the higher judiciary she managed a verdict that led to closure of Monal. The action had reportedly rendered around 1,100 people jobless and turned one of Islamabad’s most scenic areas into a deserted site.
About Rina Saeed Khan:
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In November 2020, Rina Saeed Khan was appointed Chair of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) by the federal cabinet. IWMB is responsible for the management of the Margallah Hills National Park and the upcoming Margallah Wildlife Centre (to be built on the site of the old Marghazar Islamabad Zoo).
She stated on her X Account "I've been subjected to months of harassment by Monal owner Luqman Ali Afzal who used offices of his brother Kamran Ali Afzal to file frivolous enquiry; all because of a SC decision in favour of protecting Margallah Hills. Monal employees were paid to even attack my house now this (FIR).
She also mentioned on X account that "This is the thanks you get for working sincerely for wildlife protection. Nothing was found in the enquiry so they sent notices to my office address (Im no longer Chair of IWMB so they returned notices) and then they removed my stay against coercive action & filed this FIR today.Monal employees even openly put up posters of my board member (also accused) & lawyer on former Monal site. An implementation committee had been appointed to implement decision. Ministry of climate change itself has exonerated me and now this FIR just to pin something on me."
Story of Monal , CDA and IWMB :
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On July 11, 2024, a three-member Supreme Court bench led by then chief justice Qazi Faez Isa ruled that leasing land for commercial ventures in the protected park violated Section 21 of the Islamabad Wildlife Ordinance, 1979.
Following the orders of the Supreme Court, the Monal, La Montana, and Gloria Jean eateries were asked to exit Margalla Hills. Monal was set up by the CDA, and it rented out the eatery in 2006 for 15 years. The lease agreement expired in 2021, which led to a dispute on the ownership of land. Subsequently, Monal had started depositing partial payments to both the army and the CDA.
However, the claim of the army’s Remount, Veterinary and Farms Directorate was rejected by the Islamabad High Court, which directed against commercial activities in the national park.
In September 2024, the IWMB carried out the Supreme Court’s orders, overseeing the demolition of Monal and other illegal structures.
Following the verdict, the climate change ministry issued a notification removing Rina Saeed Khan from her position and placed the IWMB under the administrative control of the interior ministry. The IWMB, particularly its chairperson, Rina Saeed Khan, had been at the centre of a controversy ever since the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of Monal Restaurant in Margalla Hills National Park.
In Jan 2025, The Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) has alleged that Capital Development Authority’s (CDA) staff is interfering in restoration work at the site of demolished restaurants in Margalla Hills National Park. IWMB Chairperson Rina Saeed Khan, through an official letter dated December 31, addressed to Chairman CDA, highlighted “serious concerns regarding interference of the field staff of the CDA in the ongoing restoration work at the site of demolished Monal and La Montana restaurants.” She said that on December 31, the CDA staff visited the site and ordered IWMB staff to stop the restoration work.The IWMB chairperson said that the Saidpur and Nurpur range officers and forest guards visited the site and introduced themselves as CDA staff serving under the command of Deputy Director General Environment Irfan Niazi, and ordered the board to stop ongoing restoration work.
On 7th Feb 2025, The Cabinet has approved the reconstitution of the IWMB, with the following members as ex-officio members of the new board, comprising Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination (MoCC&EC); Joint Secretary (Admin & Development), MoCC&EC; Member Environment of the Capital Development Authority; An officer not below the rank of BS-20 appointed by the Mayor of Islamabad Head of Municipal Corporation of ICT; Deputy Commissioner of ICT.
The climate change and environmental coordination ministry’s media spokesperson remarked that the ministry has consistently supported the previous IWMB Board in implementing court orders and in efforts to conserve biodiversity, particularly in the Margallah Hill National Park (MHNP).
However, it is crucial to note that the former Board does not have a mandate to independently manage activities related to MHNP, according to the media spokesperson.
He said the climate change and environmental coordination ministry made numerous requests to the former IWMB for submitting a comprehensive Margallah Hills Management Plan but failed to deliver on it. The new IWMB has been entrusted to develop and implement effective strategies for the conservation of MHNP’s biodiversity with major focus on reducing forest fires, managing human-wildlife conflicts and creating livelihood opportunities for the native communities surrounding the park, according to the ministry’s press statement.
Later in Feb 2025, Ex-IWMB chief Rina Saeed Khan to move court against board dissolution. According to her, the members of the board contributed their time and services “free of charge”. The board relied more on donations from animal lovers and friends of the environment in Islamabad, she added.Rina Saeed Khan alleged that the government intended to hand the space back to commercial entities. “The CDA had already indicated to go back to court to challenge Supreme Court orders of razing commercial establishments inside the Margalla Hills National Park and ensure its re-greening,” she said.
