Global warming report presented to senators

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  • Senate’s committee also receives CDA report on Margalla Hills

ISLAMABAD: The meeting of Senate’s Standing Committee on Climate Change was held here on Wednesday under the chair of Senator Sitara Ayaz to review the implementation of policies of the last five years.

In the meeting, Climate Change secretary presented the report of affects of the global warming and its impacts in the country and the CDA report on Margalla Hills. The secretary said that Pakistan was in top 10 alarming countries which were highly alert on climate change.

He said that a case had been registered with the Kohsar police against unidentified people causing the fire in response to a complaint lodged by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board. The FIR stated that the board managed to foil the previous attempt to set fire to the hills, but two people on a motorcycle set fire to a park near Talhar Mor on Daman-e-Koh road.

It had further been reported by the board that the main suspects were from timber mafia and hunters. The board also stated that the firefighters were hired by the Capital Development Authority (CDA) during this period, and it had been decided that locals would now be hired as firefighters, as they know the hills and routes, instead of relying on political appointees.

On the other hand, environmental activists and Islamabad residents gathered outside the National Press Club on Saturday to protest the recent fire in the Margalla Hills National Park. They alleged that the fires did have natural causes and expressed disappointment that the authorities had not made any moves for nearly a week after the fire broke out.

The protesters shouted slogans against the mayor and criticised him for remaining unmoved in the face of the fire. One of the protesters carried a placard that stated: “Defend our trees from the fire as we defend our borders from enemies.”