Despite the clear order of the Supreme Court, the series of current charge appointments in the Forest Department continues.

 Due to the current charge appointments in the Forest Department of Azad Kashmir, the most important institution has reached the brink of collapse.

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Muzaffarabad (Point News Today / Pakistan Point News - NNI. 02 February 2025) Due to current charge appointments in the Forest Department, the most important institution has reached the brink of collapse. Despite the clear order of the Supreme Court, the series of current charge appointments in the Forest Department continues. The Supreme Court had ordered in 2022 that current charge appointments should be abolished in all government departments and according to the rules, current charge and officiating appointments will be considered illegal after 6 months. But in the Forest Department, approved individuals from Taobut to Bhimber have been appointed to arbitrary positions on current charge basis.

According to the special report, hundreds of incidents of forest damage have come to light in the last two years, the responsibility of which lies with more than a dozen DFOs in the Forest Department on current charge basis. Several Grade 16 officers in the department have been appointed to Grade 17 and Grade 18 posts without going through the selection committee and test interview. Currently, several Grade 16 officers in the Forest Department have been promoted on officiating basis, including Meraj Abdul Razzaq as DFO Muzaffarabad Division, Chaudhry Owais Javed as DFO Range Land, Muhammad Matlub Mughal as DFO (ICBWM), Tauseef Miran as Superintendent of Forests Jhelum Valley Forest Division, Raja Arif Khan as Superintendent of Forests Sharda Forest Division, Chaudhry Murtaza as Superintendent of Forests Renewal Autmaqam, and many other officers. This makes it clear that junior officers are not allowed to go through the selection committee and test interview for senior officers. The posts have been given and the lawlessness is also on the rise under the guise of officiating and current charges.

At present, many qualified and senior officers of the Forest Department are on the run, while junior officers and officials have been appointed to lucrative positions, keeping the market for looting hot. Contrary to the vision of the Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir, the cutting of green trees for looting and timber smuggling is also on the rise in the Forest Department. The Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir has imposed a ban on the cutting and transportation of timber, to thwart which the department and the timber mafia have started organized operations together, but the officials of the Forest Department have maintained complete silence and the serious incidents of timber smuggling are being covered up.

At present, more than 44 foresters have been appointed as current range officers. Some foresters have been working as current charge range officers for more than 4 years. More than 8 range officers are posted as DFOs on current charge, whose tenure has been more than a year. In addition, many forest guards are posted as block officers in charge, while court orders are not being taken into account, which is the height of injustice.

It should be remembered that all employees appointed on an officiating basis in the Forest Department have failed miserably in preventing illegal timber smuggling and forest damage, as evidenced by the fact that trucks going to Pakistan from Dewan Wood Industry and Qureshi Wood Industry in Neelum Valley were seized under the guise of Form 25, along with timber. This was the first such incident in the history of Azad Kashmir in which vehicles used in timber smuggling worth crores of rupees were fined only once. The Conservator (Time) Muzaffarabad Circle conducted a departmental inquiry, which proved that the DFO, while showing partiality, embezzled millions of rupees from the national treasury. The matter is under investigation in the Accountability Bureau along with evidence, in which the statements of the involved DFOs have also been recorded.