KARACHI: The Karachi Metropolitan Corporation has undertaken maintenance and restoration of the city’s first urban forest in Clifton amid complaints that the man-made jungle has fallen prey to negligence.

For months now, entrepreneur Shahzad Qureshi’s model Urban Forest Park in Clifton Block 5 has fallen prey to negligence.

Based on the Miyawaki method — a Japanese technique developed by botanist Dr Akira Miyawaki that creates dense, fast-growing forests using a variety of native plant species planted in a multi-layered structure, mimicking natural forest ecosystems — the Urban Forest was designed to give the concrete jungle that Karachi has become a breath of fresh air.

Mr Qureshi was officially allowed to adopt and convert into a park the piece of land used as a garbage dump adjacent to the infamous Nehr-i-Khayyam by the KMC in May of 2017.

He had been planning earlier to grow a sort of natural urban forest in the city, believing that neat, clean, and manicured gardens looked too artificial. He wanted a forest to help the ecosystem. He welcomed bugs, caterpillars, butterflies and frogs to his urban forest as he said that they all helped the environment.

“You’d rather have plastic plants and trees if you want greenery without insects,” he once said, adding that he wanted to offer a “table” for the small creatures in the shape of his forest.

On one side of the forest, he had dug out a ditch for throwing in kitchen waste such as fruit and vegetable peels that would then turn into compost for the soil. On another side he had grown vegetables such as green chillies, brinjal and kale along with fruit trees.

There was also a little pond in one corner at the back surrounded by all kinds of trees, which invited all kinds of birds.

The Urban Forest was adopted for a period of five years. In between there was a hiccup when suddenly in 2019, the then mayor Wasim Akhtar cancelled the agreement with Mr Qureshi on the notion of violation of the contract.

But the misunderstanding between them was cleared soon enough but not before the KMC uprooted many plants and vegetables grown by Qureshi.

After completion of his rewarding journey of building a beautiful environment-friendly and people-friendly park as had been planned, Qureshi gave back the birthplace of the first Miyawaki Method in Pakistan, the Urban Forest Park, to the KMC in May of 2023.

Still, he was asked to carry on managing the Urban Forest Park, which his staff was doing until May of this year.

Qureshi himself has been abroad for around a year now, but he has been requesting the KMC to take good care of the park. Meanwhile People have also shared pictures of the park in a state of neglect.

On a recent visit, Dawn met Mohammad Ayub, the KMC guard posted there, who showed freshly grown banana trees and a mulberry bush which were doing quite well. On the left side of the entrance there was also a cotton plant. All the other trees planted under Qureshi’s supervision had grown quite big. Still, the wild growth had spread to the walking paths. The pond was no longer visible amid the thick forestation until the guard led you there. Many of the boards placed along the paths had fallen down giving the place quite an unkempt look.

When contacted, KMC’s Parks and Horticulture Director General Arif Khokhar said that he had only taken over at the end of July and that he was passionate about building urban forests all over the city.

“The recent rains have also led to some wild growth at the Urban Forest Park. The trees and plants are badly in need of pruning,” he said.

On Monday, he said, the KMC launched an exercise to improve the overall situation at the urban forest. “I am myself a forester and want to build an urban forest inside every big park of Karachi,” Khokhar informed Dawn.

He said that he was involved with this first urban forest of Karachi right from the time Qureshi had adopted it.

“I gave many plants to Shahzad Qureshi in 2017. I had also tried explaining to him then that the Miyawaki Method, which he was looking to follow, better suited tropical areas whereas we are in an arid zone. But he is an idealist so we let him follow his heart. And he on his part has also done wonders,” he smiled.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025

*Correction: Mr Shahzad Qureshi had been incorrectly referred to as a former lawmaker associated with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf. The error has been rectified.