ISLAMABAD, Oct 17: The timber mafia has found a new route at Margalla Hills to transport their consignment from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to other parts of the country, Dawn has learnt.

A senior official in the civic authority said the mafia chopped trees in Haripur and the areas close to the capital city. “The route is an easy way to enter the capital,” the official said.

The presence of a number of military and police check posts on G.T. Road within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is major hurdle to smooth smuggling of timber so they use the Margalla route.

The illegal forest cutting, according to one federal government official, is a routine matter in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The official said that there were very few check posts on the road that connected Margalla Hills with Haripur.

He maintained that the timber mafia had been using this route for the last over five years.

“The CDA’s environment wing often takes up this issue with their counterparts in Haripur district but to no avail,” the official said.

The member environment Dr Kazim Niaz said they had devised a strategy to restrict their movement on this route.

Dr Niaz said if the timber transporters did not have permit, inspectors, posted on the Margalla Hills, imposed fine on them besides confiscating the consignment.

He explained that his wing had imposed maximum fine of Rs100,000 on different occasions.

Dr Niaz said that other than Margalla route the mafia also uses Murree as an exit point.

“Murree is another route from where the stolen or illegal timber is moved to different parts of the country,” said the member environment.

“They will devise additional measures such as employing more human resources to contain their movement through Margalla Hills,” said Dr Niaz.

However, when asked that the mafia was also stealing timber from Margalla Hills his answer was negative.

Dr Niaz explained that his department’s officials were deployed at the Margalla Hills mainly to block illegal tree cutting and keep an eye on timber mafia.

He said they arrested the violators and tried them in CDA’s courts as per the environmental laws.

Meanwhile, when approached the Station House Officer of Kohsar Police station, in whose area Margalla Hills fall, told Dawn: “I have an experience of handling timber mafia and recently been appointed to specifically address this issue at the Margallas and block the movement of timber mafia from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa into Islamabad.”

Mr Bukhari said that he would soon visit the area and devise a comprehensive strategy to limit their movement.