ISLAMABAD: The recent forest fires in Islamabad’s Margalla Hills were caused by “negligence and mischief,” a government official said on Monday, days after authorities spent hours dousing flames that erupted in different locations of the picturesque mountains in the city’s capital.

The Margalla range, part of the Himalayan foothills, has often experienced bushfires in the summer months. The mountain range has caught fire different times this month as various parts of the country remain in the grip of a severe heat wave. 

“There are no species in Islamabad’s forests that can catch fire by themselves,” Irfan Niazi, the director-general of the Capital Development Authority (CDA) told Geo News. “This is either the result of someone’s negligence or mischief which is done deliberately and then it spreads.”

The official explained that high temperature, high-speed winds, and “fuel” were the main ingredients of a forest fire. He added that fuel was already present at Margalla Hills in the form of dry leaves and fallen tree trunks. 

“As soon as the temperature rises, the wind turns warm and rises upwards,” he said. “However, the cold wind that comes along to take its place results in high-speed winds. Now all these things are conducive for a forest fire. Then when anyone engages in mischief, it causes the fire to rise and spread.” 

Niazi said no loss of life or damage to property due to the fires have been reported so far. He said whenever a fire erupts, the CDA prioritizes dousing the flames nearest to the areas where people reside. 

Niazi said during the previous years, the CDA hired 300-350 additional personnel for three months to battle forest fires. However, the authority has increased this number to 450 to ensure the forest fires remained contained. 

In response to a question, he said it was difficult to transport heavy machinery or trucks to mountainous terrains where fires often erupt.

“We transport firefighters in vehicles but then they have to walk miles to reach the fire site,” Niazi said. “We use conventional techniques like beating bushes and also cutting them to douse the fire.”

ISLAMABAD: A full-court bench of Pakistan’s top court on Monday began hearing a plea filed by the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) party, backed by former prime minister Imran Khan, challenging the order by a high court which denied it reserved seats for women and minorities in parliament. 

The full-court 13-member bench is being headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa. Bench members include Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, Justice Munib Akhtar, Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Ayesha A. Malik, Justice Athar Minallah, Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Justice Shahid Waheed, Justice Irfan Saadat Khan and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan. 

Pakistan’s top court on May 6 suspended the PHC’s earlier decision in which it said the SIC, which was joined by Khan-backed candidates who won the Feb. 8 national election, was not eligible for reserved seats in parliament. Following the decision, Pakistan’s Attorney-General Mansoor Usman Awan had highlighted that under Section 4 of the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Act 2023, the present case should be heard by a larger bench of the Supreme Court since the issue concerns interpretation of constitutional provisions. 

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Shah had ordered placing the SIC’s plea before a three-judge committee that determines the constitution of benches for the reconstitution of a larger bench. The committee decided with a majority of two to one to constitute a 13-judge full court instead of a larger bench comprising seven judges. 

“As per a letter issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan dated 25-4-2024, he submits that it has been acknowledged that the SIC is a parliamentary party having 82 general seats in the National Assembly,” Faisal Siddiqui, the SIC’s lawyer, read out the May 6 order of the top court in front of the bench during the hearing. 

“Therefore, SIC is entitled to reserved seats as per the proportional representation system in terms of Article 51 (6d and e)and 106 (2c) of the constitution.”

The dispute arose after Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party couldn’t contest the Feb. 8 elections under its traditional electoral symbol, a cricket bat, which it was denied on technical grounds. The PTI subsequently struck an alliance with the SIC in a bid to secure reserved seats for women and minorities in parliament. 

Under Pakistan’s election rules, political parties are allotted reserved seats in proportion to the number of parliamentary seats they win in the election. This completes the National Assembly’s total strength of 336 seats.

The Election Commission had ruled in March that the SIC was not eligible for reserved seats, a decision the alliance had appealed in the PHC, which also rejected it.