The powerful timber mafia continues to wreak havoc as they have cut down
precious trees from some forests in the Swat district. Ac
cording to some local sources at scenic Malam Jabba valley in Swat, the mafia is active for the past couple of months and has inflicted
losses worth millions by cutting down
precious trees illegally from Pinus jungles at Gat Kandao area of Malam Jabba. “So far, at different places, the mafia has cut down a half dozen
precious conifer trees, gutted several other plants resultantly inflicting huge
losses on the forests,” said the local source who is privy to this scribe. The source while blaming of
ficials of the district forest office (DFO) said that the of
ficials of the DFO had been informed timely but every time they failed to reach the site of the destruction and take action against the culprits. Meanwhile, as some of
the pictures and videos on the illegal cutting down of
precious trees were doing rounds on social media, members of the civil society took to the streets and condemned the brutal act of the Timber Mafia. They also lashed out at the of
ficials of the DFO office for failing to take action against them. Saleem Khan, a social activist, said they were unhappy with the silence maintained by the of
ficials of the forest department.
.jpg)
