Army help sought to put out wildfire in Koh-e-Suleman range

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Senator Dost Mohammad has appealed Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa to initiate timely action by sending troops and helicopters to put out the wildfire raging in the historic Koh-e-Suleman mountain range located at the confluence of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan and erstwhile Fata.

The wildfire that broke out a few days ago in the periphery of the range, allegedly by arsonists at the behest of the timbre mafia, soon engulfed vast swathes of precious forest areas and threatened the extinction of all important Chilgoza (pine nuts) trees.

The famed Koh-e-Suleman range is home to the world’s largest Chilgoza (pine nuts) and spread over an area of more than 26,000 hectares and produces 640,000kg of high quality pine nuts annually and thus contributes significantly to the national economy besides generating viable socio-economic opportunities for this backward region.

Both the KP and Balochistan forest department officials miserably failed to control the fire owing to their untrained staff and lack of modern technology.

The PTI leader called upon both the federal and the two provincial governments to give a special package to the area, ravaged by the wildfire, depriving many families of their sources of livelihoods.

He said that at this critical juncture, the involvement of trained army personnel along with helicopters can greatly help to douse the fire from engulfing the neighbourhoods. Moreover, he called for the formation of a judicial inquiry to ascertain the true factors behind the deadly fire and to take to task those officials who failed to timely respond to the catastrophe.

Koh-e-Suleman is renowned for being the Throne of Prophet Hazrat Sulaiman, who was bestowed by Allah with Special Powers including the ability to speak to animals, birds and rule Jinns.