KARACHI:
Upon a recent visit to the H-8 graveyard (in Islamabad), I was shocked to see that three big, old trees had been ruthlessly chopped down. One of them was a red silk cotton tree which had flowered profusely in the spring of this year. I was told that this had been carried out at the request of someone who wanted to put marble on an existing grave which was being obstructed by a tree. This was not a new grave, so why now? Besides the sacrificing of the three trees, eight or nine graves in the vicinity were also damaged. Everyone knows if you chop down tall trees, there will be damage to surrounding trees and structures. It is quite unbelievable that in this day and age of climate change awareness and the important role trees play, three healthy trees could be unceremoniously removed leaving a bare, ugly space.
Hendrina Khan,
Islamabad
