Minister of State for Inside Tallal Chaudhry on Tuesday knowledgeable irked lawmakers within the Nationwide Meeting that 29,115 bushes had been faraway from the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), however that greater than this quantity can be planted within the coming months.
Prior to now few days, there was widespread criticism over the chopping of hundreds of mature bushes in varied places of the federal capital, together with the leveling of acres of tree cowl round Shakarparian.
PTI MNA Riaz Fatyana moved a calling consideration discover on the tree-cutting within the federal capital and the general public concern it was inflicting.
Responding to him, Chaudhry stated 29,115 bushes have been eliminated, whereas “40,000 bushes of greater than 8-10 ft have been planted”.
He added that one other 60,000 bushes might be planted in the identical areas on March 30, when the climate might be extra appropriate for planting.
The state minister acknowledged that it was a matter of excessive significance and had been beneath dialogue within the media for a lot of days.
He defined that there have been “three attainable causes” for eradicating the bushes: the presence of paper mulberry species; areas designated as brown zones in Islamabad’s Grasp Plan however generally considered inexperienced till growth started, together with Embassy Street; and sectors additionally thought of inexperienced areas till they had been constructed.
He invited the home and the journalists to evaluate the inexperienced areas primarily based on the NDVI (Normalised Distinction Vegetation Index) course of, including that the accountable authorities can be answerable if greenery is diminished or inexperienced areas are transformed into brown.
“Greenery declined until 2020, however the knowledge from 2023-2025 reveals that the proportion of greenery has elevated in comparison with earlier than,” the state minister stated.
Chaudhry additionally referred to as for it “to not be made a style to make Islamabad the goal of criticism or personally hit the CDA chairman”. He added that the choices weren’t made by anybody individual, however taken beneath a coverage.
On the criticism of infrastructure initiatives primarily based on the argument that bushes needed to be reduce for them, Chaudhry provided to present an on-ground briefing to parliamentarians and journalists on all such initiatives carried out beneath the present authorities.
“If any tree was eliminated, mature bushes 4 occasions that quantity had been planted,” he asserted.
On the rationale for eradicating the paper mulberry species, Chaudhry highlighted that “by-air seeding” was carried out throughout Islamabad’s preliminary growth so as to add greenery.
“Over time, it turned evident that a few of these species had been hazardous to well being, inflicting allergic reactions and different points,” he stated.
The state minister recalled the Islamabad Excessive Courtroom’s 2009 order to hurry up the eradication of paper mulberry bushes to mitigate pollen allergic reactions, and the formation of a committee in 2020 to make sure environmental safety within the capital.
He additionally cited a Supreme Courtroom order from 2024, its suo-motu discover and the following involvement of two forest specialists concerning the removing of paper mulberry bushes from the F-9 Park.
Because of this, a regular working process (SOP) was decided whereby a survey of the tree species and numbers is first carried out, adopted by a public listening to, earlier than continuing to felling the bushes.
Responding to a question by Fatyana, Chaudhry stated, “We have now not earned cash by eradicating bushes”. As a substitute, he added, cash has been spent to take away bushes dangerous to well being, because the roots of the paper mulberry species additionally have to be taken out.
“I’m saying with utmost duty that no different species was eliminated,” he asserted.
PPP, PTI lawmakers increase issues over ‘large-scale’ tree-cutting
Reacting to Chaudhry’s rationalization, PPP’s Sharmila Faruqui stated he had “tried to justify the mass-cutting of bushes, however nowhere on this planet bushes had been felled on such an unlimited scale because of well being points, or pollen allergy from paper mulberry bushes”.
She cited Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the USA as examples, stating that “focused management” was employed there to eliminate saplings.
“There’s a kingship. You stood up and stated to root out the Inexperienced Belt since you instantly realized that it was inflicting pollen allergy. It doesn’t occur like this; there’s a process,” Faruqui stated.
She claimed that “large mature bushes” had been reduce down, including: “That is no justification that you simply take away the complete Inexperienced Belt and say ‘we have now planted 4 saplings’. These 4 saplings wouldn’t develop up even in 50 years.”
Responding to her, Chaudhry stated, “If you wish to clear up the difficulty, then cease point-scoring.”
He declared: “We might be accountable if the inexperienced space has decreased because of any mega-project, growth, or court docket order.”
The state minister asserted there was “no kingship” and a correct course of was adopted.
MQM-P’s Farooq Sattar stated he agreed with “most of” what Chaudhry stated, however insisted that “many elderly bushes” had been additionally reduce down, which gravely saddened the general public.
“It was positively wanted for growth, however then they need to come ahead and announce proactively what number of bushes we’re planting of their place,” he stated.
Talking on factors of order within the NA earlier than Chaudhry’s rationalization, PTI’s Ali Muhammad Khan and PPP’s Shazia Marri additionally raised the difficulty of tree-cutting in Islamabad.
Ali stated that if the inside ministry, the Islamabad administration or the local weather change ministry had reduce the bushes “after taking the residents of Islamabad into confidence, there wouldn’t have been distrust in them”.
“The almost 40,000 bushes you will have reduce are the lungs of Islamabad,” the PTI lawmaker added. He additional urged the related authorities to plant 100 saplings within the spring for every tree reduce down.
Ali questioned why “50 to 60-year-old bushes” had been additionally eliminated if solely paper mulberry bushes had been being changed.
Marri additionally raised her celebration’s issues over the “large-scale tree-cutting in Islamabad”. “Whether or not it’s Shakarparian, F-9, or different areas, experiences are rising that hundreds of bushes are being reduce,” she stated.
The PPP lawmaker added, “Even in case you are justifying it {that a} particular species dangerous to the surroundings is being reduce, however why are they operating away from accountability?”
Marri demanded the “precise reality” and the figures on the tree plantation being carried out to make up for it. She really helpful that the matter be referred to the NA’s Standing Committee for Local weather Change for additional debate.
Unanimous decision urges govt to probe documented passengers’ offloading
Individually, the NA unanimously handed a decision demanding that the federal government probe the offloading of documented passengers at varied airports throughout the nation.
Over the previous few months, quite a few incidents have been reported of vacationers being offloaded from flights at varied airports, regardless of possessing legitimate journey paperwork.
PPP MNA Agha Rafiullah moved a decision earlier than the NA in the present day, stating that the “authorities ought to take quick steps to research the off-loading of documented passengers at varied airports”.
The decision additionally urged the federal government to advocate “administrative reforms to make sure transparency, accountability and the safety of passenger rights, whereas bettering communication so that each one off-loading choices are lawful and correctly documented”.
NA Speaker Ayaz Sadiq then moved the decision for voting, which obtained no opposition and was subsequently handed unanimously.
Talking afterward a degree of order, PPP’s Marri termed the offloading of vacationers a “essential” subject. “Folks going overseas for work or training because of a superb supply, particularly with all their full paperwork, now have a lot worry due to these actions.”
She famous the “demeanor adopted with them regardless of them having full paperwork”, urging the federal government to take motion on the matter.
The Federal Investigation Company (FIA) had linked the offloading incidents to a crackdown on migrant smuggling by denying journey to these with incomplete paperwork.
In mid-December, rising public fury prompted Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to lastly take discover of the difficulty and kind a “particular committee” to look into the matter.
Earlier this month, Inside Minister Mohsin Naqvi issued orders to the FIA for the strict screening of journey paperwork at airports.
Within the first week of December, Naqvi had stated that 50-70 passengers had been being offloaded each day from flights to guard the nation’s passport fame, which, at a mean of 60 per day, involves fewer than 22,000 in a yr.
Nonetheless, official figures confirmed that the precise variety of offloaded passengers in 2025 was thrice increased, at 66,000.
In line with FIA Director Basic Riffat Mukhtar Raja, 51,000 of the 66,000 passengers offloaded this yr had been stopped by the FIA for inadequate or unverified documentation.
