Three men were arrested while 15 cases had been filed over multiple incidents of fires at the Margalla Hills, where dousing efforts were under way on Friday as well, officials said.
Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa — also the Capital Development Authority (CDA) chairman — confirmed the development in a post on X.
“We will ensure all those responsible are held accountable. We are committed to protect[ing] our beautiful hills at any cost,” he asserted.
According to CDA spokesperson Kamran Aslam, the authority’s environment wing caught the three men involved in fire incidents from a point where fire had been raging earlier today and handed them over to the Islamabad police.
Aslam added that the three men had been identified. He further said that on the instructions of the CDA chairman, patrolling has been increased at Margalla Hills.
Earlier today, the CDA had said more than 80 firefighters were engaged in efforts to control a fresh fire at the renowned hills.
The operation was “focused on the centre” after the blaze had been controlled from the sides, it specified in a post on X.
The CDA spokesperson said a helicopter was aiding the operation while additional teams had also departed to join the extinguishing efforts.
Environment director Asif Majeed was monitoring the operation himself on the directives of CDA Chairman Mohammad Ali Randhawa, Aslam said, adding that the relevant assistant commissioner was also present on the site.
High-speed winds and hot weather posed difficulties in putting out the blaze, the CDA spokesperson highlighted. He asserted that all resources were being used to control the fire.
Spread over 12,605 hectares, Margalla Hills face a number of fire incidents every year, with 15 such cases occurring only on Tuesday, which were then doused after an almost eight-hour-long operation.
Suspecting human involvement, the interior minister then ordered an inquiry, the registration of a first information report (FIR) and the formation of a committee over the fire incidents.
The next day, Randhawa — also the Islamabad chief commissioner — met with the city’s police chief Syed Ali Nasir Rizvi and others, where they vowed to trace any possible human involvement in such incidents.
Margalla Hills is being looked after by two organisations — CDA and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board — and during the last few years, they have remained at loggerheads with each other. Some officials said there was also a possibility that someone who wanted to create a rift between these two bodies was behind the alleged deliberate fire incidents.
The incidents had come into the spotlight earlier this week, when two fires in the hills’ Saidpur range were put out by firefighters after seven hours with the support of helicopters.
The next day, another fire had erupted and spread to the Noorpur range, prompting Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to take notice of the matter.