PESHAWAR: Chief Minister Mahmood Khan has ordered that the act of setting fire to a forest be declared a non-bailable offence.
Mr Khan was chairing a discussion about recent forest fires in the province, according to a statement released here. Provincial Minister for Forests Ishtiaq Urmer, Chief Secretary Dr Shehzad Bangash, IGP Moazzam Jah Ansari, Secretary of State for Forests Mohammad Abid Majeed, and other officials were in attendance.
The participants were informed that there had been a total of 283 forest fires reported around the province in recent weeks. According to the report, the majority of the fires occurred in dry grass and shrubs, with only 22 trees in designated forests being burned in the blazes across the province.
The meeting decided to develop a strategy for preventing such tragedies by tightening the necessary laws to penalise people who intentionally set mountains/forests on fire because of personal animosities. It was resolved to form district-level committees to keep a close check on such damaging actions.
