MARDAN: Divisional Commissioner Mardan Muhammad Ayaz, here on Wednesday, inaugurated monsoon afforestation drive launched in collaboration with the Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC).

The PTC had provided 50,000 plants to contribute to the government’s ‘Green Pakistan Initiative’. This effort underscores public-private partnership to attain long term environmental goals. Deputy Commissioner Behzad Adil, officials of district administration, forest department, employees of PTC and others participated in the event.

In Lower Dir, Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) Bashir Khan said that about 600,000 saplings of pines and deodar would be planted during the monsoon plantation drive in different parts of the Lower Dir.

He was addressing a function after inaugurating the monsoon plantation campaign under the ‘Green Growth Strategy–Billion Tree Plus Plantation Drive’ of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at government high school Mian Banda here the other day.

Besides government officials, social and political activists, area elders, teachers and students attended the function.

In Charsadda, Deputy Commissioner Qaiser Khan said that tree plantation was vital for improving environment, keeping air clean, combating climate change, and preventing soil erosion.

He was speaking on the occasion of inaugurating tree plantation campaign at Women and Children Hospital, here the other day. The DC said that every citizen was responsible to plant trees and be a part of this campaign.

In Swabi, a monsoon tree plantation campaign was launched here at the Ghulam Ishaq Khan (GIK) Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology.

The campaign has been launched with the support of World Wide Fund (WWF) for Nature, Pakistan and Al-Baraka Bank.

Prof Fazal Ahmad Khalid, Rector GIK Institute, Khurrum Saeed, Provincial Coordinator Conservation, Anwar Kazmi, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa head of Al-Baraka Bank, and others attended the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof Khalid said the GIK Institute had planned to plant 10,000 saplings during the drive, of which 2,000 saplings would be provided by provincial WWF, and the remaining would be arranged from other sources.

Published in Dawn, July 25th, 2024