KHYBER: The monsoon plantation campaign was marred by uprooting of hundreds of recently planted saplings by some unruly residents of Bara on Sunday.

Sources in Bara said that scores of Salor Plaray tribesmen of Sipah, who were holding black flags and chanting slogans, forcibly disrupted the plantation ceremony in Mandy Kas area where officials of district administration including deputy commissioner and forest department were present.

They said that the enraged crowd claimed that the saplings were planted on a disputed ‘territory’ and a case was already under the review of a Peshawar court to determine its ownership of the land.

Local administrative officials along with MNA Iqbal Afridi and tribal elders tried to pacify the enraged people, who refused to listen to reason and suddenly started uprooting all the saplings planted on the occasion.

Officials present on the occasion had to vacate the place as police failed to control the unruly mob. Video footages shared on social media showed angry mob, mostly young men armed with batons, uprooted and destroyed almost all the newly planted saplings on the vast barren land.

Reacting to the incident, the district administration lodged an FIR against the people involved in the incident and made several arrests.

A press note issued from Khyber House said that the incident in Mandy Kas was result of a misunderstanding between two sub-tribes of Sipah and elders of Sipah tribe along with those involved in uprooting the plants not only apologised for their ‘misdeed’ but also pledged to re-plant saplings at the same venue.

The statement said that 10 people were nominated in the FIR in addition to 40 unidentified persons. “Police arrested the main accused and instigator of the whole episode Abdul Salam while five others have also been arrested,” said the press note, adding that raids for the arrest of remaining accused were underway.

The statement said that 100,000 saplings were planted in the entire Khyber tribal district in just one day.

Published in Dawn, August 10th, 2020