09/02/2026

MONDAY | FEB 9, 2026

7 Thai reformists take on conservatives

Built in the 1960s, Islamabad was planned as a green city, with wide avenues, parks and tree-lined sectors. Many residents fear that vision is steadily being eroded, with concrete replacing green spaces. Resident Muhammad Naveed took the authorities to court this year over “large-scale tree cutting” for infrastructure projects, accusing them of felling “many mature trees” and leaving land “barren”. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) blamed major infrastructure development, including road construction and monuments, for the mass razing of trees and natural vegetation in Islamabad. Between 2001 and 2024, the capital lost 14ha of tree cover, equal to 20 football pitches, according to Global Forest Watch, though the figure does not account for tree cover gains during the same period. For Kamran Abbasi, a local trader and resident since the 1980s, it feels like “they are cutting trees everywhere”. “It is not the same anymore,” he said. “Trees are life. Thousands are cut to build one bridge.” Air quality in Islamabad continues to deteriorate. Pollution is a longstanding problem, but plants can help by filtering dirty air, absorbing harmful gases and cooling cities. “Forests act as powerful natural filters ... cleaning the air and water, and reducing the overall impact of pollution,” said Muhammad Ibrahim, director of WWF-Pakistan’s forest programme. There were no good air quality days in Islamabad last month, with all but two classed as “unhealthy” or “very unhealthy” by monitoring the last poll three years ago, its candidate was blocked from the premiership and the party was later dissolved. Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut said after casting his ballot in Bangkok that he expected to “get the mandate from the people”. But ahead of voting day, political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak cautioned: “There are forces beyond the political arena in Thailand that call the final shots. “It’s not about the election, it’s about the dissolutions.” Thaksin’s Pheu Thai party came second in 2023 and formed a coalition with the third-placed conservatives Bhumjaithai, only to have its prime minister removed by court order. He was succeeded by Thaksin’s daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was judicially ousted in turn before parliament anointed Bhumjaithai leader Anutin in September – the country’s third prime minister in two years. Thailand’s political history is replete with military coups, bloody street protests and judicial bans on prime ministers and parties.

The last coup in 2014 was followed by five years of junta rule and a military-drafted constitution that gives significant power to institutions appointed by the senate, which is not directly elected. “People who are elected have been able to be undermined by people who are not elected,” said political scientist Napon Jatusripitak. “That’s not necessarily a good thing for a country where democratic experience has been turbulent.” Move Forward was dissolved after the constitutional court ruled its pledge to reform the strict royal insult law amounted to an attempt to overthrow the constitutional monarchy. The issue has not featured in the People’s Party campaign this time. Anutin’s Bhumjaithai is second in the polls and analysts anticipate the conservative leader, who championed the legalisation of cannabis, could retain the premiership by again allying with Pheu Thai, now ranked third. Thailand’s most successful political party of modern times, Pheu Thai has fallen from grace after Paetongtarn was dismissed by the

BANGKOK: Thais voted yesterday in an election pitting the popular reformists who came first last time against the conservative who ended up as prime minister, with ex-leader Thaksin Shinawatra looming large from his prison cell. “We need a strong leader who can protect our sovereignty,” said Yuernyong Loonboot, 64, the first voter to cast his ballot at a polling station in Buriram, the hometown of incumbent prime minister Anutin Charnvirakul. “Living here, the border conflict has made me anxious. War was never something we used to think about.” No party is forecast to win an outright majority and coalition negotiations are expected to follow the results. The progressive People’s Party was the runaway leader in opinion polls ahead of the vote. But while its previous incarnation, Move Forward, won the most seats at o Winning parties likely to form coalition SYDNEY: An Australian national who killed 51 worshippers and injured dozens at two mosques in New Zealand will begin an appeal hearing against his sentence today. Brenton Tarrant, 35, opened fire on two mosques in Christchurch in March 2019. He was convicted of 51 charges of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one charge of committing a terrorist act and is serving a life sentence in prison without parole. It was the first time a New Zealand court had sentenced a person to prison for the rest of their life. Tarrant released a racist manifesto before storming the mosques, shooting at worshippers gathered for Friday prayers and livestreaming the killings on Facebook using a head-mounted camera. New Zealand’s worst peacetime killing shocked the country and prompted the government to tighten gun laws. – Reuters NORTH KOREA TO HOLD PARTY CONGRESS SEOUL: North Korea’s leadership will hold a party congress later this month, state media announced yesterday, in what will be the first such major gathering since 2021. The decision was made on Saturday in a meeting of top leaders of the country’s ruling Workers Party of Korea, including Kim Jong Un, the Korean Central News Agency reported. The last party congress, the reclusive nuclear-armed nation’s eighth, was held in January 2021. At that gathering, Kim was named the party’s general secretary, a title previously reserved for his father and predecessor Kim Jong Il, in what analysts said was a move to reinforce his authority. The congress is the ruling party’s top gathering, a grand political set piece that reinforces the regime’s authority and can serve as a platform for announcements of policy shifts or elite personnel changes. – AFP MOSQUE SHOOTER APPEALS SENTENCE

A voter with her dog casts a ballot at a polling station in Bangkok. – REUTERSPIC

constitutional her handling of the Cambodia dispute, and with Thaksin jailed for corruption. His nephew Yodchanan Wongsawat, seeking to become the family’s fifth prime minister, said yesterday that “Thailand must court over

change”, but pollster NIDA puts the party on just 16%, a far cry from its heyday. A referendum ballot yesterday also gives voters a chance to voice whether they want constitutional reform in principle, but with no specific measures on the table. – AFP

Pakistan capital picks concrete over trees ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s capital Islamabad was once known for its lush greenery, but the felling of trees across the city for infrastructure and military monuments has prompted local anger and even lawsuits.

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Photograph taken on Jan 13 shows construction after felling of trees near Shakarparian forest in Islamabad. – AFPPIC

indiscriminate tree removal, but careful urban planning, experts say, replanting with non-allergenic species and greater transparency around development projects in the capital. In recent months, large bulldozers have been spotted levelling former green belts and wooded areas, including near major highways. According to WWF and unnamed government officials, some of the cleared land is tapped for monuments commemorating the brief but intense armed conflict between Pakistan and India last May. Other plots were razed to make way for military-linked infrastructure. “We know that trees are being cut for military-related projects, but there is not much we can do,” said a government source, requesting anonymity for security reasons. “The people in power, the military, can do whatever they want.” Pakistan’s powerful military has

ruled the country for decades through coups and is deeply involved in the country’s politics and economy, analysts say. At a proposed military monument site along the city’s express highway, WWF recorded more than 6ha of land clearing last year, with work continuing this year. It saw “no active plantation ... indicating that the clearing is infrastructure driven”. The military did not respond to AFP’s request for comment. Naveed’s court case seeking to halt the widespread felling, which is still being heard, argues there is “no excuse” for the tree loss. If a monument is “deemed essential, why was it not placed in any existing park or public place?”, he argues. In reply to Naveed’s petition, authorities said roads and infrastructure projects were approved under regulations dating back to 1992. – AFP

organisation IQAir. While some trees are felled for infrastructure, officials justify removing others to tackle seasonal pollen allergies that are especially acute in spring. That problem is largely attributed to paper mulberry trees, which were planted extensively during the city’s early development. “The main reason is pollen allergy,” said Abdul Razzaq, an official from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) in Islamabad. “People suffer from chest infections, asthma and severe allergic reactions. I do too.” The government plans to remove 29,000 pollen-producing trees and plants, according to a recent WWF report. However, critics argue that pollen allergies are an excuse to justify broader tree-cutting, particularly linked to military and infrastructure projects. The solution lies not in