ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has launched the monsoon plantation drive in Islamabad to enhance the forest cover in Pakistan.
Addressing the ceremony in Islamabad’s Fatima Jinnah Park, the prime minister said that Pakistan was taking steps to curb carbon emissions — a fact acknowledged by the world — and the current plantation drive was part of its efforts to reverse climate change.
The nationwide activity is taking place in the rainy season of monsoon as part of the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami under the auspices of the Ministry of Climate Change and the Capital Development Authority (CDA). In the next few weeks, the CDA will plant nearly half a million trees across Islamabad.
The event was attended by Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, Planning Minister Asad Umer, State Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, PM’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and Senator Faisal Javed. A large number of volunteers were present to plant saplings in the premises of the park.
Imran asked Pakistanis to fully participate in the tree plantation campaign. He said it was unfortunate that the forest cover was very less when compared to other regional countries. PM Imran said there was a need to turn Pakistan green to fight global warming and offset the impact of pollution.
Speaking on the occasion, the prime minister said the plantation under the Ten Billion Tree Programme would help the country gain its required forest cover, which was unfortunately quite less compared with other countries in the region.
He said ruthless tree-cutting during the previous governments had led to rising pollution in big cities and emphasised that trees were the natural remedy to absorb the airborne pollutants.
Sharing his vision to make every city of Pakistan green, he asked the local administrations, including commissioners and deputy commissioners to ensure proper implementation of the plantation drive and also preserve the green covers.
Islamabad over the years, has witnessed a massive reduction in tree cover, particularly in the last two decades. However, the green graph is gradually showing an upward trend after the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan carried out a massive tree plantation campaign under the Clean and Green Pakistan Initiative.
Two days ago, Prime Minister Imran Khan planted a sapling in Nathia Gali’s scenic resort to promote plantation for the sake of preserving the natural environment. He also urged the nation especially youth to join hands in gearing up for the plantation campaign.
