Tree chopping going on unnoticed in Swat

Deforestation is being done non-stop by influential timber mafia

SWAT:

On the one side the provincial government has announced a large scale plantation drive to increase forest cover across the province and on the other timber mafia is actively engaged in deforestation in Swat without inviting any attention from the quarters concerned.

In Malam Jabba area of Swat timber mafia is active once again and several very large trees have been cut down overnight. The mafia is also active in Kalam where ancient forests are being targeted. A similar activity has been reported in Matta – the hometown of Khyber-Pakthunkhwa’s chief minister. This is going on under the very nose of the Forest Department in the district. “These people are cutting down large trees at night following which the remaining parts of the trees are burnt down so as to avoid detection.

This is being done in a very organized manner. Around a dozen trees are cut in one place, another dozen in other place so as to camouflage the whole activity,” said local residents of Malam Jabba while talking to The Express Tribune. “Very powerful and influential people are involved in it and they know that no one can touch them,” they said, adding that even the Forest Department is unable to check this activity. When contacted, District Forest Officer (DFO) Muhammad Wasim told The Express Tribune that there was no truth in these allegations.

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“Whenever we try to introduce some changes in the department some people start leveling such allegations which are completely baseless. This is a conspiracy against my department by some insiders,” he said. When he was shown pictures of the chopped trees being circulated on social media and shared by the locals, he said that he was not aware of any such activity going on in the district. It is worth mentioning that deforestation is a serious issue in Swat for the past few decades and because of the very active timber mafia a large part of Swat is now free of tree cover.

A large number of trees are chopped for the production of replica antique furniture that is then sent to all parts of the country. “This furniture is sold as antique furniture despite the fact that it is not antique and this trade is being done at the cost of the local forests,” said another local.