KOHAT: Trees planted here under the ‘billion tree tsunami campaign’ of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government have started decaying and dying down because of lack of rains and the negligence of the district forest department to water them.

Sources said that the forest department had planted thousands of trees on the mountains and roadsides under the billion tree plantation drive by spending huge funds, but it failed to make arrangements for watering them due to which the plants were dying out.

They said that the campaign would fail if urgent steps were not taken for care of the plants.

Lack of rain and negligence of forest dept cited as reasons

The sources said that a large number of plants had already decayed and the forest department should devise a strategy to save those trees that were planted in green areas to combat pollution and make the environment healthy.

They said that the plants which were already present before the campaign were also in danger, as the forest department was not using its tankers to water them.

BAIL GRANTED: Additional district and sessions judge Irshad Mohammad Khan has approved the bail of a man who was arrested by the cantonment police a fortnight ago on the charge that he was an Afghan refugee and working as teacher at a government school.

A statement issued by the DPO office said that the police had arrested an Afghan refugee who was teaching at a government school after getting job on fake national computerised identity card. It said that police had received a complaint that Afghan refugee Mohammad Gul was employed in the education department and was teaching at a government primary school.

The police after arresting him had sent his CNIC to Nadra for confirmation which declared it fake. He was later presented in the local court which sent him to Kohat prison.

Mr Gul’s lawyer pleaded in the court that neither was he an Afghan refugee nor he had obtained job through illegal means after which the court released him on bail. In another case, the anti-corruption judge, Salim Ashraf, granted bail to the district education officer who was arrested by officials of the anti-corruption department for taking bribe.

According to an official statement issued here on Sunday, the judge after hearing the case for two weeks termed the evidence against the DEO, Gohar Rehman, insufficient and ordered his release on bail. However another official, Fazalur Rehman, who had allegedly received the bribe was still in prison and his bail was not approved.

Published in Dawn, November 28th, 2016