Sara Ali Syed
Islamabad was designed to be Pakistan’s ecological and aesthetic jewel; a capital woven into forests, hills, and green corridors. For decades, Margalla Hills, Shakarparian, Fatima Jinnah Park (F-9), and the city’s green belts were celebrated as the “lungs of the federal capital.” But in January 2026, large-scale tree cutting has triggered an environmental crisis that threatens to permanently alter Islamabad’s landscape. What is happening today is not routine maintenance…it is ecological dismantling. Yet as alarming as the deforestation itself is, something else has gone wrong: the public debate. Constructive accountability has been overtaken by reaction, ego, trend-chasing, and shallow outrage. Blind deforestation is a calamity; but blind criticism is also a calamity. Islamabad today is suffering from both.
Shakarparian: Where the Real Crime Is Happening
According to a January 6, 2026 at least four large patches (around 15 acres) of Shakarparian have been stripped bare, leaving the land visibly “bald and barren”. Areas, once covered by dense forest, now allow a clear view of the Islamabad Expressway; something impossible just weeks ago due to thickness of the vegetation. The Capital Development Authority CDA claims only paper mulberry trees were removed; an invasive species known to cause pollen allergies, but this claim has been widely challenged. Residents, environmentalists, and satellite imagery all show that Shisham and other indigenous trees were also destroyed, contradicting CDA’s position.
This did not happen by accident.
Had the CDA been sincere, it would have conducted a scientific survey, marked only paper mulberry trees, and ordered contractors to cut only those. Instead, contractors were unleashed with saws, whole sections of forest were flattened, and construction began almost immediately. Satellite images and older photographs show mixed forest cover, not monoculture mulberry plantations.
That tells the real story. The goal was not pollen control. The goal was land clearance for construction.
“A National Park Being Privatized”
Shakarparian is part of Islamabad’s National Park, where construction is legally prohibited. Yet today:
• Hotels operate there
• A housing colony already exists
• Land has been allotted to elite clubs
• Public trails have been closed
• Police harass visitors to keep people away
This is not forest management. This is privatization of public green land. The forest is being turned into a concrete forest; over 29,115 trees were gone in a matter of days. Environmental expert Muhammad Usman estimates that 29,115 trees were removed in January 2026 alone:
F-9 Park: 12,800 trees removed
Shakarparian: 8,700 trees removed
G-10, G-11, F-10, F-11, D-12, Srinagar Highway: 2,965 trees removed
G-8: 1,405 trees removed
H-8: 1,142 trees removed
G-9: 839 trees removed
H-9: 534 trees removed
F-8: 490 trees removed
Citizens and experts fear that protected species were removed alongside paper mulberry in violation of Supreme Court orders.
Development Projects Driving Deforestation
Tree removal is not occurring in isolation. It coincides with major development schemes, including:
Margalla Enclave (CDA-DHA joint venture)
• Park Road dual carriageway
• H-8 park redevelopment
• Interchanges, housing societies, parking zones, and road expansion
These projects require vast tracts of cleared land; and Islamabad’s forests are paying the price.
The Forgotten Master Plan
Islamabad’s 1960 Master Plan, prepared by Greek urban planner Constantinos Doxiadis, required that at least 25% of the city remain green through forests, parks, and green belts. The capital was designed to be fundamentally different from Rawalpindi; modern, spacious, and environmentally balanced.
While early plantation efforts expanded green cover, they also introduced non-native species such as eucalyptus, paper mulberry, bottle brush, and gulmohar; a mistake later acknowledged by environmental scientists because these trees:
• Deplete groundwater
• Crowd out native vegetation
• Contribute to pollen allergies
However, experts stress that blanket forest clearing is far worse than selective removal.
Paper Mulberry is a Public Health Disaster
This is where reckless criticism enters. Some analysts now claim paper mulberry is harmless. This is scientifically indefensible.
Paper mulberry:
• Causes severe respiratory illness
• Produces pollen levels as high as 82,000 (dangerous level is 1,500)
• Fills hospitals every spring
• Has sent over 200,000 patients to hospitals in Islamabad alone
• Worsens asthma, heart disease, and blood pressure
• Destroys local biodiversity
Calling this “a few people being affected” is not ignorance; it is negligence. A disease always affects some people. An epidemic affects society. Islamabad was facing an epidemic.
Removing paper mulberry is medically and environmentally necessary; but not by destroying entire forests.
Planned City vs. Protected Forest
Islamabad’s 1960 Master Plan requires 25% green cover. But not all green land is the same.
There are two categories:
1. National Park Land
(Margalla Hills, Shakarparian, Rawal Lake)
No construction is allowed. Cutting here is illegal and must be resisted.
2. Acquired Development Land
This land was bought decades ago for future institutions, roads, and urban expansion. When needed, trees here will be cut and replaced. That is how planned cities function.
The Margalla Enclave and Park Road bypass are on this acquired land; not on forest land. They were built to avoid destroying local markets and homes when Kerry Road became too congested. This distinction matters. Without it, all criticism becomes noise; and that noise ends up protecting the real offenders.
A New Scandal: Parking Fees on Destroyed Forests
Another disturbing question now being raised by citizens is: Who authorized Rs100 parking fees in newly cleared green areas; and who is pocketing this money?
If forests are cut to create parking lots, why is there:
• No public accounting
• No transparency
• No audit of revenue
This suggests green land is not just being destroyed; it is being commercialized.
What Scientists Are Warning
Environmental scientists explain that:
Margalla Hills are not planted forests; they are ancient Himalayan foothill ecosystems. Counting them as CDA “green projects” is scientifically misleading. New Islamabad sectors (G-11, G-12, D-12, B-Series) ignore the original green-belt design.
Experts warn that clear-cutting mature forests is ecological self-destruction. The correct approach is:
• Gradual removal of invasive species
• Replacement with indigenous trees
• Supervised by ecologists and forestry experts
Trees Are Not the Real Pollution Problem
Islamabad’s worsening air quality is driven by:
• Traffic emissions
• Construction dust
• Industrial pollution
• Unplanned urban sprawl
Cutting forests will not fix these problems — it will make them worse.
Islamabad is losing its forests, but it is also losing rational public discourse. The real crime is not removing paper mulberry; the real crime is using it as a cover to destroy national park forests for private development.
If citizens can not distinguish between:
Illegal deforestation of protected parks
and
Planned urban development on acquired land
then the real forest destroyers will always escape accountability.
Islamabad does not need slogans; it needs law, science, and honest planning. Under the banner of “pollen control” and “development,” the capital’s natural shield is being dismantled…mature forests erased and replaced with hollow promises of future plantations that can never substitute decades-old ecosystems. If this continues, Islamabad will no longer be a green capital but a concrete heat island. This is not merely an environmental issue; it is a crisis of governance, planning, and accountability and a stark warning for Pakistan’s future, where public green heritage is quietly being converted into concrete and cash.