Shooting contest: Wildfire puts a damper on diplomatic event

Everyone evacuated safely; fire leaves ambassadors, defence attachés in panic

ISLAMABAD: A wildfire erupted on Margalla Hills Sunday destroying a large number of trees and disrupting an event organised for members of the Islamabad-based diplomatic community.

Before the ambassadors and defence attachés could witness a pistol shooting competition organised by the United Nations, the fire engulfed the shooting range and surrounding area, literally.

Luckily, the fire was put out by the event organisers and forest department officials using nothing but pine-tree branches.

The incident exposed the absence of relevant equipment with the forest department and rescue officials to control wildfires. The shooting club also lacked even basic fire extinguishers.

After the fire erupted in the shooting range and surrounding area, over a dozen diplomats and dignitaries from different countries invited at the “First Big Bore Sports Pistol Shooting Competition” in Haripur on Sunday were found in a state of panic.

The fire led to chaos as the officials were seen running up and down the mountainous area to escape the fire and smoke located near Makhnial in Haripur District of K-P during the Yaldram Shooting Club’s event.

The dignitaries included a Chinese consular, Romanian ambassador and two defence attachés, Polish ambassador and two defence attachés, Tajik ambassador, two defence attachés of Kuwait, and a defence attaché each of France, Bulgaria, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Czech Republic.

The participants expressed their dismay that the incident put a damper on an otherwise well-attended event right at the time, when the officials of different countries were present to witness the show.

Everyone was safely evacuated from the site.

The participants and the locals said that the administrations in the federal capital as well as in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) seem unable to protect the green areas from frequent fires, stone crushers, timber mafia and at times locals negligent towards the environment.

Some of the participants at the shooting event were of the view that the people throwing cigarettes and burning match sticks or even locals could be involved in the fire, which was a matter of routine during this season.

Naveed Khan, an organiser of the event, however, said that the wildfires were a common occurrence in the mountainous areas in the summer.

He that it did not look to him a deliberate attempt to sabotage the event, saying wildfires were common in forests in the area during this season.

Khan, while talking to The Express Tribune, said that after the fire was controlled and dignitaries evacuated, they decided to go ahead with the shooting competition.

He said that the club was registered with The National Rifle Association of Pakistan, and the event provided a secure environment to the people who were fond of the sport.

He added that shooters had represented Pakistan in Olympics, but there were a limited quality shooting ranges in Pakistan.

Shooting contest

Asif Kamal, Salman Afridi, and Syed Mehmood Hashmi secured first, second and third positions respectively among a total 12 shooters who stayed.

The first two winners were awarded a Czech 9mm CZ pistol, while Hashmi was given a medal for securing the third position.

Margalla Hills fires

Wildfire incidents are a common occurrence during the summer season in the Margalla Hills too.

In the last three weeks, eight wildfires have been reported in the Margalla Hills.

Moreover, stone crushers and timber mafia are also to be blamed for the frequent wildfires and their spread.

Even, amid the fire, one could easily hear a stone-crushing machine operating near a site from the shooting range.

Taking precaution, this year the Capital Development Authority (CDA) has deputed 300 extra officials and increased number of monitoring fire pickets from 15 to 30 in the Margalla Hills to extinguish fire incidents.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 23^rd, 2016.