PESHAWAR: A heated debate was witnessed in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly over the “ruthless” tree felling in South Waziristan tribal district, with members demanding the government’s intervention to immediately stop the activity and hold an inquiry into it.

The issue was raised by MPA of the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Asif Khan Mehsud through a calling attention notice during the session chaired by Mohammad Israr, from the panel of chairmen.

“I want to draw the attention of the environment minister towards widespread chopping down of trees in various parts of our province, with alarming intensity in South Waziristan,” reads the notice which the mover placed at the floor of the house.

It added that the activity was reportedly being carried out under the pretext of addressing security threats, raising serious environmental and legal concerns.

Call for immediate govt intervention; inquiry also demanded

Mehsud, who belongs to the same region, said deforestation in those ecologically sensitive areas posed grave risks, including soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, disruption of local livelihoods and long-term climate impacts.

“Not only are forests in South Waziristan vital for maintaining environmental balance but they serve as a natural resource base for local communities as well,”he said.

The lawmaker said there was an urgent need to ascertain whether due legal procedures, environmental assessments and necessary approvals were followed before such actions were undertaken.

He said the use of “security concerns” as a blanket justification for large-scale tree felling must be scrutinised to prevent “misuse of authority and ensure accountability”.

“A detailed inquiry into the extent and legality of tree cutting activities in South Waziristan and other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be conducted,” he said.

Mehsud demanded clarification of the relevant departments regarding the authorisation, scope and necessity of such actions, as well as immediate suspension of any unauthorised or excessive deforestation activities.

He insisted that strict monitoring mechanisms should be introduced to prevent further environmental degradation.

The MPA also demanded the launch of reforestation and afforestation programmes to mitigate the damage already caused to the local forests.

He also requested that authorities take swift and transparent action to address the issue, safeguard natural resources and uphold environmental laws.

Participating in the debate, member of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party Ahmad Karim Kundi said that forests should be protected in the larger interest of people and environment.

“Countries having frosts are earning billions of rupees in selling the carbon credits, while the PTI’s government in the province has been in ‘sleep mode’ and is not taking advantage of forests,” he said.

Kundi said that the majority of the provincial portfolios were held by the chief minister though it was not possible for a single person to oversee many departments at the same time.

“It is the need of the hour to shift these responsibilities to the ministers for improving the performance of these departments,” he said.

MPA Sardar Shahjehan said that such problems existed in Hazara and Malakand regions as well that had large forests.

He said that the government should take steps for prevention of the illegal tree felling.

The lawmaker said that afforestation initiatives had been taken to improve greenery in the province but authorities had never taken any tangible step to save those forests.

MPA Hamayoun Khan said that the wood from Malakand and Hazara forests was not meant for fuel and instead, it was precious timber.

He demanded that the government take measures to dispose of the timber worth billions of rupees in the forests of Kohistan, Chitral and Malakand regions.

Responding to the lawmakers’ queries, law minister Aftab Alam Khan said that settled districts had three types of forests, including reserved, guzara and protected forests, and they’re found in Malakand and Hazara regions.

“Reserved forests are fully government property, while the local communities and governments have 60-40 shares in the protected forests. The percentage is 80-20 in the guzara forest,” he said.

The minister said the situation in the merged tribal district, particularly in South Waziristan, was different from the rest of the province as the local forests were owned by the people.

“Under the law, a local jirga system regulates forests in the respective regions,” he said.

The minister supported the mover’s point, saying there should be no felling of forests in the name of security measures.

The chair adjourned the session until next Monday.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2026