Civil society protests ex-forest officer’s arrest

Karachi
The civil society representatives have expressed their concern on the arrest of former chief forests conservator, Riaz Wagan.
A statement issued on Thursday termed his arrest a travesty of the rule of law as the accused officer has been unjustifiably implicated in a patently fabricated, politically inspired conspiracy to punish him for his refusal to comply with illegal commands of higher-ups.
They appealed that the prima facie charges need to be probed at the departmental level by an impartial civil servant of integrity and unimpeachable reputation and not by the anti-corruption department, which has lost its credibility as per various judgments of higher judiciary.
The statement further said that the government should focus its efforts to remove illegal occupation of forest land and enhance forest cover in Sindh, which has already been reduced at an alarming rate.
“The Sindh government must draw up a forest conservation plan immediately to combat deforestation on a massive scale, before forests totally disappear from the province,” the representatives added.