KHYBER: The tribal elders of Sipah in BaraandZakhakhelinBazaar-Zakhakhel have agreed to jointly work for the safety and protection of natural forest in Narai Baba area of upper Bara in Khyber district.
Sources in Bara told this scribe that a delegation of Sipah elders met the chief of Zakhakhel peace committee, Haji Khan Mohammad, in Bazaar-Zakhakhel the other day and conveyed to him its displeasure over the involvement of organised Zakhakhel timber smugglers in ille-gal cutting of forest in Sipah-inhabitant area of Narai Baba.
Led by Haji Jamar Gul, the five-member Sipah elders jirga apprised the Zakhakhel peace committee chief about the rapid felling of trees by Zakhakhel tribesmen, much to the annoyance and displeasure of Narai Baba residents, who had protected their natural forest for decades.
The delegation alleged that the residents of the area had on a number of occa-sions in recent months caught Zakhakhel tribesmen cutting their forest but they were later released after the intervention of Zakhakhel elders with an assurance to desist them from forest cutting.
The members of the delegation feared a possible clash between the two tribes if timber smugglers were not restrained from secret and illegal cutting of the forest.
Tirah Ali, a member of Sipah jirga, said that the Zakhakhel peace commit-tee chief assured the delegation about a strict action against his tribesmen involved in forest cutting and jointly working for the safety of the natural forest in the entire region for the collective benefit of local tribesmen.
Meanwhile, Sipah elders have also conveyed their reservations about theforest cutting by ‘outsiders’ to local security officials, who in return have assured them of their support in protecting the local forest. Correspondent