MANSEHRA: The Forest Department has seized a huge quantity of timber allegedly cut illegally from the forests of Siran Valley and intended to be smuggled to other parts of Hazara division, officials said on Thursday.
“We have seized huge caches of high-quality wood cut illegally from Siren Valley and sealed saw machines operating without lawful authority to prepare furniture to smuggle it to parts of Hazara division and the rest of the country,” Amanullah Khan, the divisional forest officer of the Siran Forest Division, told reporters on Friday.
He said that the chief secretary, under the vision of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mohammad Sohail Afridi, had issued directives to launch a crackdown against deforestation and timber smuggling.“In pursuance of the government’s orders, we have launched a joint crackdown along with police and seized logs and beams from different points,” Amanullah Khan said.
He said that his department would not allow a handful of timber smugglers to engage in deforestation and timber smuggling in Siren Valley, which was known for its natural beauty and dense forests.
Amanullah Khan said that a joint team of police and forest department officials, after covering difficult mountainous terrain, raided places where illegally cut logs and timber had been dumped.
“We conducted raids at various points and seized a huge quantity of logs and timber, which was later transported to the forest department’s godown,” he added.The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, after coming into power, imposed a ban on deforestation and transportation of illegally cut timber to protect forests and ensure a pollution-free environment for present and future generations.
