Muzaffarabad: The poor watchers of the Forest Department and the Billion Tree Program in Azad Kashmir have been deprived of their salaries for the past ten months. Families are struggling with hunger, children are being threatened with expulsion from schools due to unpaid fees, and elderly individuals are dying without access to necessary medicines. These workers, who risk their lives to protect forests, have not even received the meager monthly salary of Rs. 15,000.
A delegation of the families, heirs, and children of these watchers recently spoke to a media investigation team. They expressed their distress, stating that if any government minister or advisor went without a salary for a month, the entire parliament would raise a ruckus. However, the poor watchers, who tirelessly perform their duties to safeguard and improve the forests, have been deprived of their wages for the past 15 months.
The delegation pointed out that hunger has gripped their homes, their cooking stoves have gone cold, and while mafias are embezzling millions, no one is addressing their plight. They felt abandoned, as if the state had no responsibility towards them. The family members urged Prime Minister of Azad Kashmir Chaudhry Anwar ul Haq, Chief Secretary of Azad Kashmir, and the judiciary to step in and ensure the payment of the salaries of these workers who have performed their duties in freezing December nights.
