The forests of Sherani in Balochistan (home to centuries-old pine nut and olive trees) are once again in flames. Three days after the wildfire began, the response still remains sluggish, with local communities overwhelmed, and the state conspicuously absent. While villagers risk their lives with branches and bare hands, the most crucial part of fire-fighting operations (aerial water spray) has yet to arrive.
This is not the first such fire. A similar inferno in 2022 wiped out nearly a million chilgoza trees in Zhob and Sherani, taking with them livelihoods worth billions of rupees. At that time, officials had promised better preparedness. Sadly, two years later, little has changed. That broken promise has now burned into another disaster.
Pakistan is one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Yet its climate response continues to hinge on post-disaster press statements and paltry relief efforts. According to experts, heatwaves and dry spells–now annual fixtures–have created the perfect tinderbox across northern and western Pakistan. The Sherani fire is part of a nationwide failure to understand that climate disasters no longer wait for future warnings. They are already here.
From Chitral to Cholistan, Pakistan loses over 11,000 hectares of forest to fire and deforestation every year. Our forest cover is already among the lowest in the region. And still, forest departments remain woefully underfunded, local firefighting capacity is rudimentary, and climate adaptation strategies are largely confined to PowerPoint decks and pilot projects.
This cannot continue.
We need a turning point much, much sooner than we are ready to admit. Between provincial wildfire units, which are trained and equipped to respond swiftly, to early warning systems, there’s a lot that the government should mandate in fire-prone areas. Most importantly, reforestation must focus on climate-resilient native species, with strict laws against illegal logging.
But beyond solutions, accountability is key. What became of the post-2022 reforms? Who is responsible for the lack of preemptive measures despite weather warnings?
Climate change is now the defining national security threat. It cannot be tackled with bureaucratic inertia or vague pledges. If this fire does not wake Pakistan’s leadership to act boldly, the next one will.
And it will not wait. *