Pakistan, June 14 -- 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 ...