Protesters demand steps for curbing forest fires.

SHANGLA -- Civil society members on Thursday staged a protest demonstration against frequent forest fires in Swat and demanded of the government to take immediate steps and arrest those behind such incidents.

The protesters gathered in front of Swat Press Club and raised slogans for saving forests of Swat and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They said that since June 1 forest fires started in various mountains and continued till Thursday, which was a question mark itself.

They said that the state had virtually failed to identify the culprits and stop the forest fires.

'Since June 1, more than 85 incidents of forest fires have occurred in different areas of Swat, but the relevant departments failed to trace the culprits so far,' said Zahoor Ahmad, an elder from Saidu Sharif who was part of the protest. He said that thousands of wild animals were also burnt to death besides destruction of precious trees in fire incidents.

Over 85 blazes reported in Swat since June 1

The protesters claimed that the forests of Swat were being burnt in an organised way and a proper network seemed to be behind the recent fires.

'In this age of modern technology, the district administration and local people douse the fire with the help of sticks and...