PESHAWAR: The forest owners of Malakand division have rejected the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Ordinance 2002 and announced they would hold a multi-party conference against it in Peshawar tomorrow (Saturday).

The elected representatives, including ministers, will participate in the event.

This announcement was made by Tahafuz-i-Haqooq-i-Kohistan Committee president Haji Gul Sher during a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday.

Accompanied by a number of elders from Dir, Swat, Chitral and Shangla, Mr. Haji Gul Sher said it was very unfortunate that the government had begun snatching Malakand people’s rights though an ordinance.

Malakand forest owners to hold multi-party moot tomorrow

“We are forest owners and have the only source to use them to build houses, as firewood and feed livestock but the forest department officials have started restricting us from taking animals to pastures and cutting firewood,” he said.

The community elder asked the government to replace the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Ordinance 2002 with a reasonable forest policy, which, he said, should be prepared in consultation with all stakeholders including forest owners to resolve all issues amicably.

“We are not ready to accept the ordinance at any cost. We will hold a multi-party conference at Al-Markaz-i-Islami on April 9, where senators, MNAs, ministers and nazims will also participate to adopt a unanimously resolution against the ordinance. If the demand is not met, we will agitate,” he said.

Haji Gul Sher also complained about discrimination in payment of royalty and said in some areas of Malakand division, forest owners were given 60 per cent royalty but in majority of the areas, it was 80 per cent.

He said the only reason for increase in royalty was an armed clash between forest owners of Sultankhel and Paindakhel tribes and law-enforcement agencies in 1976 and for that reason, the government had accept their demand by raising royalty 80 per cent.

Haji Gul Sher said forest owners did not know about the promulgation of the ordinance but they came to know only when the sitting divisional forest officer of Upper Dir began taking action against the people grazing animals in pastures or cutting firewood in their own forest cover.

He demanded the immediate withdrawal of the ordinance and increase in forest royalty from 60 per cent to 80 per cent.

“The Forest Ordinance 2002 is against the interests of the people. Under this unjustified order, 70 per cent of our forests, meadows and vales have been grabbed by the government. The ordinance is meant to deprive us of our livelihood,” said elder Malik Gul Zarin.

He said the forests, meadows and vales were the people’s property and that they were not ready to surrender them to the government. Malik Gul Zarin said Kohistanis were united to protect their rights and would take every possible step for it.

“The government is bound by the law to grant due rights to the people but our government is seizing the people’s rights. We will go to every extent against the forest ordinance,” he said.

Other participants including Haji Mohammad Nagin, Essa Khan, Malik Misri Khan and Malik Mohammad Akbar said they had to protect the forests from timber mafia round the year even in heavy snowfall with very limited resources but the government was not ready to acknowledge their services.

They demanded natural gas, employment opportunities, business loans and better agricultural and livestock facilities for local residents.

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2016