MANSEHRA: Members of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Forest Owners Association on Thursday protested the suspension of forest harvesting in the province and warned if the government didn’t reverse its move, they would stage street protests.

“The recent ban on the felling of forests even under the scientific forest management programme is tantamount to the economic murder of forest owners and their thousands of employees. We will take to the streets and even move the high court against it,” association president Salahuddin Khan toldarally here.

Accompanied by dozens of forest owners and association leaders, Mr Khan said the chopping down of forests would continue under the scientific forest management programme like before.

“We don’t accept restrictions on forest harvesting and will continue selling trees on the market,” he said.

Forest owners warn govt of agitation against move

The association leader said forest owners paid heavy taxes and levies on their harvest and transportation.

He said the recent suspension of forest harvesting by the forestry department would deprive forest owners of their livelihoods and deny their children education besides leading the province to bankruptcy,

Mr Khan said protests would be staged in Peshawar, Malakand and Hazara divisions.

He claimed that the government illegally occupied Rs10 billion of the Forest Development Fund.

“The withheld funds should be immediately released and utilised for forest management and protection, and checking timber smuggling.

General secretary of the association Haleem Khan said the government had deprived forest owners of their lands and yields earned through forestation.

VACANCIES: The local government representatives and residents of Jarad in Kaghan Valley on Friday demanded of the government to fill teacher vacancies at the area’s only high school for girls.

“We repeatedly took up the teacher shortage issue with the education department, but to no avail. Now, we have decided to block the Mansehra-Naran-Jalkhad Road to traffic in protest,” Jarad village council chairman Zakir Khan told reporters.

Accompanied by a group of residents, Mr Khan said the government high school for girls in Jarad was short of teachers, affecting the learning of its over 600 students.

“Over 20 posts of teachers have been lying vacant for a long time. Now, the school has just 10 teachers and six of them have been absent for duty for many weeks,” he said.

The council chairman warned if the issue wasn’t addressed without delay, the people would withdraw their daughters from school and block the main road to traffic for an indefinite period.

Resident Sadaqat Ali Swati urged the local MNAs and MPAs to intervene to ensure provision of quality education to schoolgirls.

Meanwhile, applicants for digital domiciles have called for the upgradation of the online system to ensure timely certificate issuance, confirming their birthplace.

“We’re happy with the launch of the online domicile registration and issuance system but it has proven to be ineffective due to long delays,” applicant Naveed Ahmad told reporters.

He and other applicants said with matriculation examination results to be announced soon, they needed domicile certificates for educational institution admissions.

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2024