MUZAFFARABAD: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Ehtesab Bureau on Saturday arrested a secretary to the government and two offi cers of the forest department for their alleged involvement in illicit felling and smuggling of timber.

Chaudhry Imtiaz Ahmed, who had served as secretary forests for about one and a half years until September last year, was arrested from Muzaffarabad and divisional forest offi cer Tahir Ali Shah and range offi cer Anwar Abbasi were arrested from Bagh by police on the requisition of the Ehtesab Bureau.

The trio was lodged in the bureau’s safe house in Thoori neighbourhood of Muzaffarabad.

The arrests were reportedly made by the bureau on a reference fi led by the government.

However, the bureau avoided issuing any formal handout to explain the nature of allegations against the detained offi cers.

Published in Dawn, March 3rd, 2024