Web desk: In a joint message marking the start of Pakistan’s Monsoon Tree Plantation Campaign, President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged the nation to take tree planting as a responsibility rather than a symbolic gesture.
They warned that with only five per cent forest cover, Pakistan remains dangerously exposed to climate disasters.
The government has announced that 41 million saplings will be planted between August and October under the campaign. Both leaders underlined that deforestation, rising temperatures and repeated floods are worsening the impacts of climate change, threatening agriculture, the economy and public welfare.
Prime Minister Sharif stressed that the initiative was part of the Green Pakistan Programme, aimed at improving soil fertility and increasing forest cover.
“Let us unite in this national tree plantation campaign and make it a success in a systematic manner so that a green, healthy, clean and prosperous Pakistan can be our destiny and that of our future generations,” he said.
He appealed to citizens from all walks of life, including women, youth and community leaders, to actively participate.
The Prime Minister added that this year the drive was being observed under different themes, reflecting the role of society in combating climate change.
He also linked the campaign to honouring those who sacrificed their lives during rescue operations, saying plantation was vital for conserving the country’s natural resources and biodiversity.
President Zardari noted that trees act as a natural defence against climate change, and emphasised the need for collective efforts. He called on the youth to become ambassadors of the campaign. Encouraging a culture of responsibility and environmental protection.
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