ISLAMABAD, April 12: A Gilgit-based German national on Friday blamed lack of political will for deforestation in Pakistan.

Addressing a press conference here, Halga Ahmad, who is married to a Pakistani, said she had been working for the protection of forests for decades but came to the conclusion that no one could stop the timber mafia from denuding the hilly areas of trees.

Ms Halga, who has been living in Pakistan for the last 57 years, said every year the government spent billions of rupees on plantation, but could not exercise influence over the timber mafia for very obvious reason.

She said during the last ten years so many mountains of northern areas which used to be covered with trees, now stood denuded.

“In the absence of trees, land erosion has increased which allowed silt to flow into Pakistans most important water reservoir, Tarbela Dam. We are leaving noting for our new generation as water, land and air has been polluted because of the chopping of trees and use of pesticides,” she said.

“We will face embarrassment, when new generation will ask us that why we did not protect natural resources of the country. I have pictures of northern areas and will arrange an exhibition with a slogan of ‘Before and After Ten Years’. Pictures will show the difference that what happened to our northern areas in ten years,” she said.

Khan Muhammad, a resident of Chilas, said that on March 15 former prime minister Raja Pervez Ashraf allowed transportation of legally and illegally cut 4 million cubic feet wood to down country within four months.

“Because of the notification timber mafia has started chopping trees and tens of millions of cubic feet wood is expected to be transported to the down country in next four months. Timber mafia has been paying Rs25 per cubic feet to local residents. In federal capital that wood is being sold for Rs3,500 per cubic feet,” he said.

“According to notification, the government has been charging a fine of Rs700 per cubic meter wood and even that money will not be spent for the welfare of poor residents of the area. Some influential politicians have been getting benefit of that notification at the cost of forests,” he said.

He appealed to caretaker Prime Minister Justice (retired) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso to withdraw the notification and order judicial inquiry into issuance of notification.

He said he had contacted former chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, filed applications in the Supreme Court but to no avail.

“I also visited the office of Ministry of Climate Change and had a meeting with Inspector General Forest Nasir Mehmood but he said that he was helpless. Other officers said that it is provincial issue.

“But when I told them that if it is provincial issue then why notification was issued on the orders of the prime minister, no one answered me,” he said.

Project Manager of a non-governmental organization, Bioresource Research Centre, Moazzam Fiaz said his organisation had been working for animal rights. Because of deforestation rare species of animals e.g tigers, deers and birds will disappear from our country.

He said animals and birds could only survive in natural hebetate.

Representative of Sarhad Awami Forestry Ittehad, an NGO, Niaz Ahmed said that although Pakistan was a signatory to the UN Conventions regarding environment but unfortunately government was not doing anything for their protection.—A Reporter