Pakistan PM Imran Khan

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has flagged off the ‘Clean and Green Pakistan’ initiative, vowing to make his country cleaner than Europe in the next five years. He formally launched the programme on Saturday by picking up a broom and sweeping a ground and interacting with school children.

Speaking after launching the initiative, Geo News quoted Khan as saying, “Pakistan ranks seventh among countries affected by global warming, [while] Lahore is among the cities with the highest pollution level. There is no litter in Europe. We litter our country, our lakes and are destroying the future of our country. Pollution decreases 11 years of a person’s life. We need to get out of this mindset that Pakistan will remain same as before.”

The cricketer-turned-politician further informed that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government planted one billion trees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province during its tenure. He said that his administration is planning to plant 10 billion trees across the country. Khan underlined that Pakistan would serve as an example to others by becoming a clean country for the next few years.

The 66-year-old leader also took to his Twitter handle and invited the youth of the country to become actively involved in the cleanliness drive. He wrote, “Today I launched our #CleanGreenPakistan campaign – a 4-pronged strategy for next 5 yrs: clean our air, our rivers, our land & make Pak green through tree plantation drive. I want all our nation to be involved, esp youth & children to lead from the front & change ppl’s mindsets.”

Last month, Khan had launched ‘Plant for Pakistan’ drive, a part of the PTI-led government’s ‘Billion Tree Tsunami 2018’ initiative.

In his previous speeches, Khan had emphasised on tackling climate change by planting trees and promoting renewable sources of energy. He had also called for a change in mindset among the people by keeping the country clean.