PESHAWAR, Sept 10: The NWFP environmental tribunal on Saturday issued non-bailable arrest warrants of the owners of six industrial units and brick kilns after their continuous non-appearance before the tribunal. The tribunal chaired by Justice Abdur Rauf Lughmani and Mr Syed Wajahat Ali Shah as its member (legal) fixed Sept 26 for next hearing, with the directives to the police concerned to positively produce the accused persons.

The accused persons are owners of industrial units namely: Haider Shah Marble Factory Warsak Road, Peshawar; Khan Badshah Marble factory, Peshawar; Peshawar Marble Factory; Sarhad Board Mills Hayatabad; Star Bricks Azakhel Payan, Nowshera; and M-2 Bricks Company Azakhel Payan.

The tribunal observed that despite issuance of repeated summons to the accused to appear before the tribunal for defending themselves, they did not show up.

The units have been charged with contravention of different provisions of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has charged them with polluting the environment by not maintaining the standards in manufacturing of marble, bricks and different kinds of boards. The tribunal has started functioning in the NWFP in last April.

Previously, there was no separate tribunal for the NWFP and the one established for Punjab had to look after cases in the NWFP also.