Karachi's green spaces under attack: Citizens condemn park commercialisation drive

Karachi [Pakistan], November 26 (ANI) Residents, civil society groups, and environmentalists from Districts East, South, and Central have raised strong objections to the commercial exploitation of Karachi's public parks, warning that the city's already fragile environment is worsening due to reckless urban policies, as reported by The Express Tribune.
According to The Express Tribune, speakers at a press conference organised by the Karachi Residents' Committee on Tuesday urged the Sindh government, Mayor Murtaza Wahab, and local authorities to stop the commercialisation of public parks immediately.
They revealed that at least 13 parks, mainly located in Clifton and PECHS, have already been handed over to private contractors for revenue-generating projects such as padel courts and sports arenas.
Among the affected public spaces are ST-15 Park, Umer Sharif Park, Bagh Ibn-e-Qasim, Jheel Park, Hill Park, and the KMC Sports Complex. Environmental researcher Ahmad Shabbar criticised the move as a violation of basic urban planning principles, noting that Karachi's shrinking green cover is crucial to controlling pollution and mitigating the effects of climate change. "Parks act as the lungs of the city," he warned.
"Their conversion into commercial sites will worsen air quality, increase carbon emissions, and erode Karachi's climate resilience."
Speakers, including architect Marvi Mazhar, journalist Madeeha Syed, and environmentalist Masood Lohar, underlined the social consequences of the move, saying that the loss of neighbourhood parks especially harms women, children, and the elderly groups that rely most on local green spaces for leisure and community interaction.
Residents living near these commercialised parks complained of noise pollution, security threats, and the loss of open spaces that once served as vital public meeting points, as cited by The Express Tribune.
Community representative Asad Ali Sheikh called the trend a "systematic capture of public land," accusing city authorities of misusing public-private partnerships to benefit private investors.
"The city's open spaces are being sold in the name of development," he said. The Karachi Residents' Committee demanded that the Sindh Local Government Department revoke all commercial leases for parks and urged the Mayor to prioritise citizens' welfare over profiteering, as reported by The Express Tribune. (ANI)