DADU: Sindh Chief Secretary Syed Asif Haider has ordered sweeping disciplinary action against wildlife department officials following a district administration inquiry into the illegal logging and smuggling of rare trees within Khirthar National Park.

In a major departmental shake-up, seven officials have been suspended, 12 issued show-cause notices and two officers transferred.

The actions were executed by Sindh Wildlife Secretary Nisar Ahmed Memon on the recommendations of an investigative committee led by Conservator Sindh Javed Ahmed Mahar. The committee’s findings revealed that the cutting and sale of valuable timber, alongside the unauthorised extraction and transport of sand, gravel and stone from the park’s mountainous zones, had been taking place with the collusion of departmental personnel.

According to the inquiry report, the illicit extraction of natural resources from the protected reserve had been continuing for a considerable period. The issue gained high-level attention after Jamshoro MNA Malik Asad Sikandar Khan raised the matter in the National Assembly, demanding accountability for the theft of valuable timber from the national park.

Among those penalised, Wali Muhammad Brahmani, deputy director of the Khirthar National Park Protected Area Complex, has been suspended, served a show-cause notice and ordered to report to the department’s head office. Deputy Conservator Hyderabad, Wajid Ali Shaikh, has been given additional charge of the post.

Concurrently, deputy director of the Khirthar National Park Protected Area, Naeemullah Qazi, has been transferred, with Assistant Director Mohsin Ali Brohi (BS-17) taking additional charge. Other officials suspended and issued show-cause notices pending further inquiry include Field Officer Sohail Khoso, game inspectors Ahmed Ali Barijo and Sajid Rind, Assistant Director Abdul Rasheed Tunjiani and Field Officer Naveed Yousuf.

Raid in Amri

In a parallel development enforcement operations have intensified across Jamshoro district. Acting on instructions from Jamshoro Deputy Commissioner Ghazanfar Qadri, the assistant commissioner of Manjhand led a raid near Amri, intercepting a tractor-trolley loaded with freshly felled, illicit timber.

Police impounded the vehicle and arrested the driver, who remains in custody. District authorities stated that the raid is part of an ongoing enforcement campaign to halt illegal logging and timber smuggling across Jamshoro.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2026