Indian forces behind forest fires, chopping of fruit trees in IIOJK: APHC
Srinagar: The All Parties Hurriyat Conference has revealed that Indian forces, including army and paramilitary personnel, are deliberately setting forests on fire, destroying water resources and chopping fruit trees in Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
According to Kashmir Media Service, APHC spokesman Advocate Abdul Rashid Minhas, in a statement issued in Srinagar, said that Indian troops use explosives to ignite forest fires, aiming to establish military camps and firing ranges in the ecologically sensitive areas of the territory.
The APHC expressed serious concern over the increasing incidents of forest fires, particularly in the Harwan-Shankaracharya range and Bagediam in Srinagar, Tral to Pahalgam in South Kashmir, Rafiabad and Bandipora in North Kashmir, as well as Gutilbagh, Shalbagh, and Akahalt forest areas in Ganderbal. The statement deplored the involvement of the Indian Army in these deliberate acts of environmental destruction.
Additionally, there are reports that Indian troops have been secretly cutting down apple orchards in Kashmir under the cover of darkness. In response, police have ordered orchard owners to install CCTV cameras to track movement within the dense apple farms.
The APHC strongly condemned the Indian Army’s continued occupation of the Bajpathri forest area near Yusmarg hill resort in Badgam district, where they have converted lush green spaces into an artillery firing range. The organization warned that similar firing ranges across Kashmir and the Jammu region are causing severe damage to vast forest areas, further destabilizing the territory’s fragile ecosystem.
The APHC stated that India’s actions violate international environmental agreements, at a time when the global community is working to counter climate change and environmental threats.
“To maintain its illegal and forced occupation of Kashmir, India is systematically destroying vital ecological resources that play a crucial role in maintaining environmental equilibrium and controlling rising global temperatures,” the statement read.
The APHC further criticized India for treating Jammu and Kashmir as a mere colony, where military interests take precedence over the well-being of the people and the environment.
“India not only seeks to maintain its military occupation of Jammu and Kashmir but has turned the territory into a weapons depot,” the APHC said, adding that Indian policymakers have no regard for the suffering of Kashmiris, nor do they care whether the region’s economy survives or collapses.
The APHC urged international organizations and environmental watchdogs to take urgent notice of India’s reckless destruction in Kashmir and hold it accountable for violating environmental and human rights laws.
