I have been advocating for making F-9 Park in Islamabad more vibrant and people-friendly. It is an amazing green space, with thousands of trees and rich vegetation. It also serves as an important environmental buffer for a city that is rapidly being polluted with more highways and underpasses. We must protect this. But we also need to improve how people experience and use the park. The park should be well-lit, with walking paths connecting all sides, allowing people to cross it safely. It should not just be a place for morning and evening walks, but also part of people's daily commute. We also need wide, pedestrian-friendly footpaths connecting nearby residential sectors to the park. People living in these sectors should be able to walk to the park instead of taking their cars (If they are blessed to live in the nearby sectors). All of this can be achieved without cutting trees or reducing vegetation. I also believe that a sustainable model for street food and other small vendors can make the park more vibrant, accessible and safer. Of course, this must come with proper environmental, waste management and food safety protocols. Street vendors are not necessarily a threat to public spaces. When properly managed, they bring activity, social interaction and natural surveillance. However, there is a much bigger issue: public trust in CDA. I don't think citizens trust CDA to undertake such interventions without damaging the park's ecology or compromising its public character. This distrust has developed over years of decisions about trees, public spaces and urban design. Therefore, even if the government has good intentions, it cannot approach the improvement of F-9 Park in an authoritarian, top-down manner. There must be meaningful public consultations, involvement of urbanists, environmental experts, nearby communities and citizen groups. The process should be transparent, with clear commitments to protecting the park's green cover. Most importantly, this initiative must be citizen-led, not driven by the Interior Ministry or the Chairman CDA. F-9 Park belongs to the people of Islamabad. They should have the leading role in deciding its future.