Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday ordered an investigation into forest fires that broke out at 15 different places on Margalla Hills, located on the northern edge of Islamabad.
The development comes amid a large-scale effort to extinguish the fires, the interior ministry said.
The fires first started at three locations on Hiking Trails 3 and 5 of Margalla Hills, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Helicopters were brought in because firefighters on the ground had trouble reaching the fire sites. Later, fires broke out at nearly a dozen more locations.
Naqvi took notice of the situation and spoke to Islamabad Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, calling for a thorough investigation to find out whether the fires were set deliberately or happened by accident.
“A committee should be immediately formed to investigate the fire incidents at 15 places in a single day,” Naqvi said, according to his ministry.
Following the interior minister’s orders, the Islamabad chief commissioner and police chief have assigned officials to look into the matter, the statement added.
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Margalla Hills, part of the Himalayan foothills, cover 12,605 hectares and have several hiking trails visited by many people daily. The fires have started during a heatwave in Pakistan, with temperatures reaching over 52 degrees Celsius in some areas.
Pakistan has seen more forest fires in recent years, blamed on climate change and rising temperatures.
Earlier in the day, senior Islamabad officials visited the fire sites to check on firefighting efforts.
“Firefighters are using all resources to put out the fires,” said Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Irfan Nawaz Memon in a statement. “Assistance has also been sought from other agencies to put out the fires, which will soon be brought under control.”
