‘Good Name in Man and Woman...’

By Ardeshir Cowasjee
Earlier this month, no less a man than the chief justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Chaudhry, who so ably led the bench hearing the constitutional petitions challenging the NRO, rendered praise unto Karachi’s city nazim, Mustafa Kamal. In a news item in the national press on Dec 2 (‘SC seeks report on tree-felling in Lahore’):

‘The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a detailed report till Dec 21 on cutting of trees due to extension of the Canal View Road Project in Lahore from the provincial environment secretary and the director general.

‘A three-member SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan and Justice Tariq Parvez, was hearing a suo motu case initiated against the cutting of trees.’ The project costing Rs3bn involved the felling of 1,844 trees along 14 kilometres of the canal bank. The news item ended:

‘The chief justice then observed that the government in London did not go for expansion of its roads merely to preserve its heritage. ‘How such a project of huge cost is in favour of the country in the current economic situation,’ the chief justice said. ‘See Karachi, how a young nazim has excellently worked,’ the chief justice said, adding the authorities of Lahore should go to Karachi to see his excellent work. Lamenting the strategy of cutting trees for expansion of roads, Imrana Tiwana said instead of making transport system efficient, trees are being sacrificed to expand the roads. The court adjourned the hearing for Dec 21.’

To revert to 2008 and a news item of July 4 (‘Mustafa Kamal launches Green Karachi project’):

‘After chopping down thousands of trees in the city in the past couple of years, City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal on Thursday announced that his administration would plant several hundred thousand trees by the end of the year.’ Mustafa appealed to Karachi’s citizens for help and he ‘said that despite these initiatives the tree-planting campaign needed active participation from common citizens as they have the responsibility of protection and preservation of this natural asset.

‘He said that the cutting of trees had been completely banned in the city and anyone who would be seen cutting a tree would be arrested.’

That was then. On Dec 14, 2009, Shehri , our environmental NGO, had to address a letter to Nazim Kamal under the heading ‘Cutting of trees on Sharea Faisal’. It read: ‘We learn that certain departments of the city government are planning to cut trees on the green belts at the sides of Sharea Faisal between FTC and Karsaz Road. Perhaps they are not aware of the following facts:

‘(a) On July 3, 2008, as was widely reported in the press the next day, you promised the citizens of Karachi a Green Karachi, promised to plant over 100, 000 trees, and placed a ban on the cutting of trees in the city stating that anyone who cut trees in Karachi would be arrested. (b) Earlier this month, the chief justice of Pakistan, while stopping the cutting of trees along the Canal Bank Road in Lahore … held you up as an example of a mayor who undertook projects whilst being mindful of the environment.

‘It would be a criminal act, especially during the days of the Copenhagen conference on climate change, to cut trees that actually absorb carbon dioxide and reduce the prospects of global warming. We request you to ensure that this philistine act is not carried out.’

A copy was forwarded to the chief justice of Pakistan who has the capacity to hear the cries of distressed trees, the cries of souls lost and not found, and of many others. So far the trees still stand.
(Excerpts from a column of Ardeshir Cowasjee published in the daily Dawn)