In Islamabad, concrete and military infrastructure are encroaching on the urban landscape.

Built in the 1960s, the Pakistani capital was designed as a "green city," with wide avenues, parks, and tree-lined neighborhoods. But many residents complain that concrete is increasingly replacing green spaces.

One of them, Muhammad Naveed, sued city authorities this year for "large-scale tree felling" for infrastructure projects, accusing authorities of cutting down "many mature trees" and leaving the land "barren".

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), large infrastructure projects, including the construction of roads and monuments, have led to large-scale deforestation and the destruction of natural vegetation in Islamabad.

Between 2001 and 2024, Islamabad lost fourteen hectares of forest cover, equivalent to 20 football fields, according to Global Forest Watch, although this figure does not take into account gains in forest cover during the same period.

"They're cutting down trees everywhere."

Kamran Abbasi, a local trader and resident since the 1980s, says he feels like "trees are being cut down everywhere".

"Forests act as powerful natural filters (...) they purify the air and water and reduce the overall impact of pollution," Muhammad Ibrahim, director of WWF-Pakistan, told AFP.

Islamabad experienced persistent air pollution in January, with all but two days being classified as "unhealthy" or "very unhealthy" by the monitoring body IQAir.

While some trees are cut down to build infrastructure, the authorities justify the felling of other trees to combat seasonal pollen allergies, which are particularly acute in the spring.

"People are suffering from lung infections, asthma and severe allergic reactions. Myself included," Abdul Razzaq, an official with the Capital Development Authority (CDA), told AFP.

The problem is largely attributed to paper mulberry trees, a species widely planted during the initial development of the city.

According to a recent WWF report, the government plans to cut down 29.000 trees and pollen plants.

Critics of this campaign claim that it is a pretext to justify cutting down trees.

"No excuses"

According to experts, the solution lies in careful urban planning, the replanting of non-allergenic species and greater transparency around development projects.

In recent months, former green belts and wooded areas, particularly near major highways, have been bulldozed.

Some of the cleared land is being used to erect monuments commemorating the conflict between Pakistan and India last May, according to the WWF and officials speaking on condition of anonymity.

Others are being adapted to accommodate military infrastructure.

For more than a year, the Pakistani army has been steadily increasing its power with constitutional reforms, granting immunity to its leader and taking advantage of regional tensions, to the point of overshadowing the civilian government.

The military has ruled Pakistan for almost half of its history, since its independence in 1947.

At the site of a proposed military monument along the city's expressway, WWF documented the clearing of more than six hectares of land last year.

The army did not respond to requests for comment from AFP.

In his ongoing lawsuit to stop the mass felling, Naveed Ahmed stresses that there is "no excuse" for the removal of the trees.

"If a monument is deemed essential, why wasn't it placed in an existing park or public space?", he asks.

The authorities argue that the road and infrastructure projects were approved under regulations dating back to 1992.