The interior ministry announced plans for large-scale development in Islamabad, which included the construction of a large park at the foot of the city’s iconic Margalla Hills and five-star hotels in the city, much to the dismay of the city’s residents.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the decisions were made in a meeting at the headquarters of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, whose ministry oversees the CDA.
Residents of Islamabad, ever proud of their city’s natural charm, took to X in a fury to denounce the plans to develop one of the city’s most lush green areas.
Netizens questioned why the project was necessary and what had been done to assess and mitigate the environmental harm that would result from it.
Even Senator Sherry Rehman, the former federal minister for climate change, called on the government to review the plans. She said the Margalla green area is a “protected zone” and highlighted the “brutal” evictions in Bari Imam, saying “compassion and compensation must come before anything else for vulnerable populations living in these areas from before 1947”.
Some users had suggestions on what could be done in place of development in the Margallas, ranging from building environmentally conscious attractions to building hotels and parks elsewhere in the city.
There was also a feeling there were other places in the country that could use a new 1,000 kanal park or two.
While details are still scarce, the park is expected to be built in the capital’s D-12 sector, one of the northernmost sectors bordering the Margalla Hills.
The development of hotels is especially uncertain as the area highlighted for the park is zoned in a way that would not allow major construction projects to proceed.
While it is unclear whether the CDA will alter its zoning laws or if the hotels will be built somewhere else, what is clear is that the people of Islamabad love the city’s trees and don’t want to see them cut down and replaced with concrete structures.
