Abbottabad: Forest Owners Association Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has rejected the decision to impose a complete ban on cutting trees in forests and demanded that the association’s representative be included in the high-level meeting of the provincial government to clarify the facts. Otherwise, they will approach the court for justice.
The government should differentiate between the timber mafia and the forest owners. The ban on cutting trees created the timber mafia. Forests on private land are resources that are a right to benefit from.
Floods, earthquakes and storms are linked to forests under a specific agenda. Behind which the mafia does not want the country’s resources to be used.
These views were expressed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Owners Association’s Provincial President, Alauddin Khan; President Forest Association, Khanzada Khan; General Secretary KPK, Khurram Khan; President Hazara Division, Khanzada Khan; Vice President Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Arif Khan Alai; General Secretary Hazara Division
While holding a press conference, the owners said that windfall timber has been declared illegal. They are like living corpses in the forest. The owners said that the difference between the timber mafia and the owners is not understood. If we plant trees, we also have the right to cut them.
They have demanded that the government devise a clear policy regarding the issue because the livelihood of the families is provided by the forests.
The forest owners have asked the central and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments not to limit the assistance to the flood victims to mere lip service and deliver on the ground.
