ISLAMABAD: A petition has been filed in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) challenging the large-scale felling of thousands of trees by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in the Shakarparian area and other parts of the federal capital.
The writ petition, filed by Muhammad Naveed Ahmad through advocates Muddasir Latif Abbasi and Umair Asad, names the CDA, the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA), and the Ministry of Climate Change as respondents.
The petitioner alleges that the “tree-cutting spree” violates fundamental constitutional rights to life and a clean environment, as well as the 26th Amendment, which explicitly added Article 9-A (Right to Clean and Healthy Environment) to the Constitution.
According to the petition, approximately 29,000 trees were removed across Islamabad in 2025, including 8,700 in Shakarparian alone. While the CDA has publicly stated the operations targeted invasive and allergenic paper mulberry trees in compliance with 2023 and 2025 Supreme Court orders, the petitioner claims that native and non-allergenic trees were also “felled indiscriminately” for infrastructure projects.
