CHITRAL: Civil society representatives have expressed serious concern over the rapid melting of glaciers in the Broghal, Trich, Awer and Golin valleys of Chitral, which will have dire consequences not only for the district but also for the entire country.

They were speaking at an emergency meeting held here on Saturday called by Sartaj Ahmed Khan, convener of the ‘Save Chitral, Save Pakistan’ movement. Civil society representatives, environmental experts and political leaders presented their expert opinions and suggestions to address the issue.

Mr Ahmed told the gathering that during his recent visit to the Broghil Valley last week, he was horrified to see the retreat of the glaciers at alarmingly high speed with a significant change over the past 10 years.

He said that glaciers were a valuable source of water and the Chiantar and other glaciers in Broghil were the source of the Kabul River, which irrigates the Peshawar Valley and other plains. He stressed that the damage to the glaciers of Chitral could be a loss for the entire Pakistan.

Says many of region’s 543 glaciers declared endangered

The participants said that Chitral had 543 glaciers, out of which, many had been declared as endangered, while any extirpation to these ‘towers of water’ would prove disastrous not only for Chitral but for the entire country.

They suggested launching a full-fledged movement to save the Chitral glaciers in order to save the plains.

Those who spoke on the occasion included director general Kalash Valleys Development Authority Minhasuddin, former district nazim Maghfirat Shah, Syed Harir Shah, Ijaz Ahmed, Khurshid Ali Shah, Dr Noorul Islam, former MPA Maulana Hidayatur Rehman, Ayaz Ali, Shafiqullah Khan, Mohammad Owais Khan, and others.

JAILED: Lower Chitral District and Sessions Judge Shahnaz Hameed Khattak sentenced a man to one year in prison, and imposed a fine of Rs100,000 on him for possessing hashish, which was recovered from his home during a raid in 2022.

According to the prosecution, on Sept 17, 2022, after receiving a report of the presence of drugs in the house of Syed Qadam, a resident of Zhitoor village within the jurisdiction of Garm Chashma police station, a warrant was obtained from the magistrate to conduct search and 440 grams of hashish was recovered from his house.

The prosecution proved the allegation during the trial, following which the court sentenced the accused under section 9(C) of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Control of Narcotics Substances Act, 2019.

The convict will undergo imprisonment of 10 days in case of non-payment of the fine.

Sardar Ali Advocate appeared for the accused, while the district public prosecutor pleaded for the state.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2025