Large-scale tree cutting in Islamabad continues to draw public criticism and legal scrutiny despite a restraining order issued by the Islamabad High Court, with residents and environmental observers alleging that deforestation activities have not fully stopped in areas of the federal capital.

The court, around two weeks ago, restrained the Capital Development Authority (CDA) from cutting trees along Ataturk Avenue, stretching from Express Chowk to Aga Khan Road, while hearing a petition challenging widening works and development-linked tree removal. It also issued notices to the CDA and other respondents, directing them to justify the ongoing activity and submit formal replies.

Despite this, concerns persist on the ground. Citizens and activists claim that tree cutting has continued in parts of the city or that prior damage remains visible, raising questions over the enforcement of judicial directions.

Islamabad’s natural beauty is being stripped away with tree cutting and concrete projects, replaced with palm trees that belong to Gulf climates. It feels like we’re slowly losing the identity of the city. https://t.co/O6tEfAdJi7 pic.twitter.com/QBWBYfbBIP — BATMAN (@batmanofpak) April 21, 2026

Islamabad’s natural beauty is being stripped away with tree cutting and concrete projects, replaced with palm trees that belong to Gulf climates. It feels like we’re slowly losing the identity of the city. https://t.co/O6tEfAdJi7 pic.twitter.com/QBWBYfbBIP

The controversy is part of a wider dispute over environmental change in Islamabad, including extensive tree removal in Shakarparian and adjoining green belts. Petitioners have alleged that around 29,000 trees were cut in 2025 alone, including nearly 8,700 in Shakarparian. Environmental groups argue that the scale of removal exceeds officially stated objectives, such as pollen control.

The WWF-Pakistan has previously noted that field observations suggest vegetation loss is also linked to infrastructure expansion, challenging official claims that the campaign targeted only allergenic species such as paper mulberry.

The CDA has defended its actions, stating that tree-cutting operations were carried out on directives originating from the Prime Minister’s Office and followed recommendations of an environmental committee formed after a 2022 court order. Officials further maintain that compliance mechanisms are in place and that any ongoing work involves either approved development or transplantation rather than felling.

However, activists and researchers argue that enforcement remains weak and that environmental governance is being overshadowed by urban expansion priorities.

In a broader critique of urban redevelopment in Islamabad, civil society voices have also raised concerns over displacement and land acquisition practices.

Is this progress ?? By cutting down trees in a nation globally most affected by climate change? The easiest and cheapest way to mitigate global warming is to plant trees and vegetation with shade ; this should be done in billions twice a year during the tree plantation seasons of… https://t.co/I8yZ9Nta5o — Senator Dr. Zarqa Taimur (@drzarqa) April 22, 2026

Is this progress ?? By cutting down trees in a nation globally most affected by climate change? The easiest and cheapest way to mitigate global warming is to plant trees and vegetation with shade ; this should be done in billions twice a year during the tree plantation seasons of… https://t.co/I8yZ9Nta5o

Speaking to Naya Daur, Tooba Syed, a political activist associated with Awami Workers Party and Women Democratic Front, said:

“What CDA calls ‘reclaiming land’ is the state manufacturing multigenerational poverty. Pakistan has a housing shortage of over 10 million units. The state has never built affordable housing. The one thing it has managed to do consistently is destroy what the poor built for themselves. These forced evictions are not just losing a house. It is losing the school your child walks to, the workplace you reached on foot, the neighbour who watches your daughter when you work nights. Overnight, half your income vanishes into rent and transport. Forced displacement spikes domestic violence, pulls children out of school, and fractures the community networks, built over decades, that protect women and girls most.”

Ammar Rashid, policy researcher and worker of the Haqooq-e-Khalq Party, also told Naya Daur:

“What is happening in Islamabad right now represents a particularly vicious episode in the long-running history of working-class dispossession by the Capital Development Authority. Under Mohsin Naqvi, CDA has been empowered to evict indigenous villages of Islamabad like Saidpur and Nurpur—once declared model villages—as well as informal settlements without resettlement or relocation. Despite a stay order against summary evictions from the Supreme Court in effect since 2015, the CDA has continued to regularly violate it without consequence. As the Interior Minister's recent remarks made clear, this is part of an effort to acquire the land for private investors for upscale hotel complexes that will also encroach on the protected Margalla Hills National Park, which is critical for Islamabad’s ecology. All of this is being done by an unelected city administration without any consultation with Islamabad’s residents.”

The matter remains sub judice, with the Islamabad High Court awaiting detailed responses from the Capital Development Authority and other relevant departments. Enforcement of the restraining order and the scope of permissible development activity remain central questions as the case proceeds.

© Naya Daur