QUETTA: The National Accountability Bureau (NAB) Balochistan has recovered more than one million acres of forest land, valued at over Rs1.3 trillion, across the province.

The recovery had been made after an intensive eight-month operation carried out in collaboration with the Board of Revenue and deputy commissioners.

NAB officials said on Monday that the large-scale operation aimed to reclaim forest lands from encroachers and illegal occupants, and to prevent further misuse of state property. The reclai­med lands have now been officially mutated in favour of the Forest Depar­tment, Balochistan.

A senior NAB official said the provincial government has establi­sh­­ed the Forest Settle­ment Boards in each district and Forest Tribunals at the divisional level.

These bodies will help address the grievances of local tri­bes and communities, ens­uring fair and transparent resolution of land ownership and usage disputes.

Earlier, NAB Baloch­istan had also initiated an inquiry into the illegal allotment of state-owned land in Miani Hore, located in Sonmiani tehsil of Hub district.

The area had already been declared as mangrove-protected forest zone by the Forest Department in September 2022.

However, the local administration and other relevant departments later designated it as a new mouza (settlement area) and invited people to file land claims there.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2025