Vanishing greenery

Pakistan’s capital was shifted from Karachi to Islamabad in the 1960s, and the nation was told that it would be an administrative city away from commercial activities. City planning allowed it to become a wonderful city with plenty of greenery and open spaces but no high-rise buildings to maintain its scenic beauty. The city developed into a clean and green modern city worth living in. Sadly, this did not last long and those in authority started converting this beautiful city into a concrete jungle. I expected better vision from our current government with its dreams of a billion-tree tsunami, but was shocked to read in the news recently that the federal cabinet has approved high-rise commercial plazas for Islamabad, hoping to make money for the CDA. Our leaders claim to be great environmentalists but think in terms of money only it seems.

Mohammad A Niazi

Rawalpindi