Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Suhail Afridi has directed a zero-tolerance crackdown on illegal logging and the timber mafia, ordering strict legal action, including criminal cases, against those involved in cutting forests and exploiting wildlife.
Chairing a high-level meeting of the Environment, Forest and Wildlife Department, the chief minister said that the province’s forests were a national trust and would not be allowed to be plundered under any circumstances.
Afridi instructed authorities to register criminal cases against individuals involved in illegal tree-cutting and vowed to pursue tough penalties to deter environmental crimes.
The chief minister also ordered a full-scale crackdown on illegal hunting and wildlife trafficking, directing law-enforcement agencies to immediately arrest offenders and ensure stringent legal action.
Afridi said the KP government would ensure wildlife protection in line with international standards and announced that the provincial cabinet had decided to introduce tighter legal reforms and harsher punishments for violations related to forests and wildlife conservation.
He further instructed all relevant departments to identify loopholes in the existing laws and submit fresh proposals to make the legal framework more effective, emphasising that exploitation of natural resources due to weak legislation had become “unacceptable”.
