Islamabad, January 13, 2026: The ongoing tree-cutting drive in Islamabad has exposed differences within the ruling coalition, as key government allies and opposition members raised serious concerns in the National Assembly on Tuesday, questioning the scope and impact of the campaign.
During the session, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Shazia Marri, citing reports, said that thousands of trees had been cut down in various parts of the capital, including Shakarparian, and termed the issue “very serious.” She called for clarity on the government’s environmental policy and accountability over the removals.
Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Dr Farooq Sattar also questioned the move, expressing concern that old and mature trees had been felled due to construction activities, which, he said, should not have occurred.
Last week, the Islamabad district administration maintained that the campaign specifically targeted paper mulberry trees, which are known to cause severe pollen allergies among residents of the federal capital.
Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Mohammad Khan acknowledged that cutting wild paper mulberry trees due to pollination concerns was understandable, but questioned why trees aged 40 to 50 years had also been removed. Both government allies and opposition members demanded that the issue be referred to the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Environment.
Responding to a calling attention notice moved by MNA Muhammad Riaz Fatyana, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry informed the House that only allergy-causing paper mulberry trees had been removed. He asserted that Islamabad was now “greener than before” and announced that 60,000 additional trees would be planted by the end of March.
Chaudhry said the matter had been widely debated on social and electronic media, but stressed that facts showed only specific categories of trees were removed. He explained that tree removal in Islamabad takes place under three circumstances: development activities in accordance with the city’s original master plan in brown-area sectors, infrastructure requirements such as roads, underpasses and overhead structures, and the removal of hazardous species, particularly paper mulberry.
He clarified that areas perceived by the public as green were, in fact, designated as brown-area zones in the original master plan. The minister emphasized that no infrastructure project undertaken in the past 18 months had removed trees without due process, adding that all projects undergo public hearings, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviews, certification, and mapping through SPARCO imagery and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), an internationally recognized method for assessing green cover.
“Over 40,000 mature trees, each 8 to 10 feet tall, have already been planted, and another 60,000 will be planted by March,” he said. He added that SPARCO imagery, Google Maps data, and NDVI analysis showed an increase in Islamabad’s green cover between 2023 and 2025, contradicting claims of environmental degradation.
Talal Chaudhry invited parliamentarians and journalists for an on-ground technical briefing to verify the data. He also clarified that the removal of paper mulberry did not generate revenue and instead required significant expenditure to uproot the species completely to prevent regrowth. He maintained that Islamabad was now safer, more modern, and greener than before, urging that misinformation should not overshadow factual environmental improvements.
Following the debate, the matter was referred to the relevant parliamentary committee for further examination.
Later, Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadiq Malik visited Shakarparian to monitor the tree-cutting drive. Speaking to the media, he said he had come to personally inspect which trees had been removed and warned that action would be taken if indigenous trees were cut systematically or due to negligence.
Defending the campaign, the minister said pollen allergies affect between 30 and 37 percent of the population. He added that show-cause notices would be issued against construction projects found to be in violation of Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.
