Press Release Title: Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, Convener Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions presiding over a meeting of the committee at Parliament House, Islamabad

Press Release Date: 13th July, 2026

SENATE SUB-COMMITTEE DIRECTS TRANSPARENCY IN DIAMER PRIVATE FORESTS WORKING PLAN; DEMANDS COMPLETE RECORD OF EMPLOYEES AND TIMBER DATA   A meeting of the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States Frontier Regions was held today at the Parliament House, Islamabad, to review the enforcement management, and overall transparency of the forest conservation working plan for private forests in Gilgit-Baltistan.   Meeting was chaired by Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, attended by Senators Nasir Mehmood and Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto.   During the proceedings, the Secretary M/o Kashmir Affairs and  Chief Conservator of Forests provided a detailed briefing on the 30-Year Forest Working Plan spanning from 2021 to 2050. The committee was informed that although the forests in the Gilgit-Baltistan area are privately owned, local communities actively pushed for a scientific management scheme to properly regulate forest affairs, leading to a comprehensive plan covering 122,863 acres across six forest ranges and divided into 343 compartments. Under this framework, harvesting is strictly limited to dead, dying, diseased, mature, and over-mature trees to ensure sustainable resource conservation. Multidisciplinary validation teams have been deployed to rigorously evaluate each compartment using modern GIS mapping and GPS tracking to eliminate bias. Out of 125 compartments scrutinized during the revalidation process, 72 have been recommended for operations while 53 were found unsuitable and not recommended. Currently, felling orders have been issued for six compartments, with an initial extraction of 380,481 cubic feet expected out of a total recommended yield of over 5.4 million cubic feet.   The committee members expressed serious concerns regarding policy inconsistencies and varying interventions over the past 26 years, noting that the governmental approach since the 1990s often prioritized revenue generation over active conservation, which impacted local trust and allowed instances of illegal cutting. The committee emphasized that robust verification and strict transport monitoring are crucial to stopping illegal wood shifting and protecting the environment. Consequently, the Convener of the Sub-Committee issued several strict directives to enforce accountability. The Forest Department has been ordered to immediately provide the complete details and service records of all 1,200 forest department employees, alongside specific performance data. Furthermore, the department must share all relevant structural documents and historical files dating back to 2003 with the committee members for closer scrutiny. Finally, the committee ruled that transit licenses for timber transportation will remain completely withheld until physical checks on lessees are finalized, logging targets are verified, and proper oversight is fully established.