Pakistan's green spaces — particularly its forests and mountainous regions — are in a desperate struggle for survival. They face a double threat: an increasingly volatile climate and a ruthless timber mafia. Both forces, one natural and the other man-made, are devastating precious tree cover. While nature's fury may be beyond human control, the human predators are not — yet those tasked with reining them in often act as their protectors.

No surprise, then, that a well-entrenched nexus of vested interests — corrupt officials, their political patrons and greedy timber traders — has placed the fast-depleting forests of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa at the heart of what may be the biggest timber scandal in Pakistan's history. For decades, this unholy alliance exploited legal loopholes and weak governance to strip the region of its forests — until a principled bureaucrat rose to challenge them.

Upon assuming the role of Secretary Forests in April 2024, Shahid Zaman uncovered widespread destruction — some of it facilitated by officials in the caretaker government under the guise of "collective benefit". What he found was not just a series of illegal permits, but a well-orchestrated system of environmental plunder.

Zaman unearthed dozens of unlawful transport permits and dubious........

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