Poor condition of roads to national park annoys judges

PESHAWAR: A divisional bench comprising Chief Justice Peshawar High Court Justice Qaiser Rashid and Justice Ijaz Anwar has directed Secretary Communication and Works (C&W) to appear before court on March 29 and brief the court about construction of roads for accessibility to Chitral Gol National Park.

During hearing of a case, the chief justice inquired from District Forest Officer Altaf Ali Shah regarding the operations at the national park. The DFO informed the court that eight watchers along with 18 community personnel were deployed for protection of markhor and ibex in the park

The chief justice remarked that Chitral Gol National Park is a national asset but no one had owned the treasurre. He said he himself visited the park and found the condition of roads in the area poor, which has made the region inaccessible for tourists.

The DFO said that high-ups were informed regarding shortage of human resources and expressed the hope for resolution of the issues.

Additional Advocate General Syed Sikandar Hayat along with Chitral Conservation Committee’s counsel Ghuffranullah Shah Advocate were present before court.

The chief justice remarked that no department had done anything to protect the national asset, added that everything would be done on the intervention of court.

The court directed the secretary C&W to appear before PHC brief it regarding his responsibility for construction of roads and adjourned further hearing.–Frontier Post