PESHAWAR: After devastating forests across the province, the timber and land mafia has now set its sights on the Makhniyal forest — located in Haripur, close to Islamabad and forming part of the Margalla Hills ecosystem.
Influential individuals and groups are actively pushing to open up the area, with rampant tree cutting, mining, and commercial grazing threatening one of the region’s most precious green belts.
Although, the Supreme Court has already banned commercial activities in the Margalla Hills adjacent to Makhniyal, the timber and land mafia is now trying to encroach upon the Makhniyal forest to build hotels, housing societies and commercial buildings.
However, in a major environmental step, the Forestry and Wildlife Department has suggested the KP government to declare thousands of acres of tree and turf-covered wastelands in Haripur’s Khanpur and Makhnial forest subdivisions as Protected Wastelands, locally known as Guzara Forests. The decision follows a comprehensive mapping exercise conducted by the Forest Department’s main and sub-committees, which identified 7,060 khasras across 78 villages – 66 in Haripur and 12 in Abbottabad – containing significant tree cover within the working plan boundaries. The plan encompasses 1,602.28 acres of protected wasteland outside existing working plans, identified through GIS mapping and ground verification, as well as 336.5 acres across 48 khasras of resumed land within existing Guzara Forest Working Plan compartments. Major locations include the Khanpur subdivision, the Makhnial subdivision, and forested slopes forming part of the Margalla Hills ecosystem.
Former bureaucrat Shakeel Durrani told The News that, as a member of the GDA Board, he had strongly opposed the construction of hotels, housing societies, and playlands in Makhniyal. He said that after his opposition, an attempt was made to place the Makhniyal forest under the Khanpur Tehsil Municipal Committee. According to him, commercial encroachments on the Islamabad side — including hotels and other structures — have been removed, but construction of farmhouses continues on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa side. He warned that such commercial activities would not only destroy the ecological system of Haripur and Islamabad, but also endanger the rare wildlife found in the area.
Officials from the Forest Department say the move will help stabilise tree and turf cover, thereby combating soil erosion, landslides, and water scarcity in ecologically sensitive areas. They believe that the use of high-resolution GIS mapping and ground surveys will ensure accurate land classification, reducing the risk of encroachment and misuse. Protecting water sources and grazing lands could also support rural livelihoods if managed under the chak system, with rights safeguarded under Section 46 of the Forest Ordinance 2002.
However, officials warn that in several key locations, including Moza Lora, Dheri Kiala, Banwari, Dannah, and Ghambir, revenue records are missing or incomplete, complicating legal classification. Parts of the unprotected wasteland in Julian and Tarnawa remain under the possession of the defence forces.
If implemented, the plan would be one of the province’s largest exercises in harmonizing forest conservation with community rights, potentially setting a national precedent for data-driven and legally sound environmental governance.
According to the Forest Department’s recommendations, landowners and right-holders will continue to enjoy all entitlements recorded in the Wajib-ul-Arz — the official register of rights — even after the new status takes effect. This includes the right to collect fuel wood, fodder, small timber for household repairs, and other forest produce for personal use, as protected under Section 46 of the Forest Ordinance 2002. Grazing rights for household livestock, if already documented, will also continue within sustainable limits.
However, the new protected status will introduce tighter controls on commercial exploitation. Large-scale timber harvesting, mining, commercial grazing, and land use conversion will be prohibited without explicit approval from the Forest Department. Any tree felling, even on privately owned khasras within the protected area, will require departmental permission.
Officials say the aim is to strike a balance between conserving green cover and safeguarding the needs of communities that have relied on these forests for generations. “This is not about taking away people’s rights,” a senior forest officer told this correspondent. “It’s about ensuring these rights can still be enjoyed by their children and grandchildren.”
