ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister Justice retd Nasir-ul-Mulk on Wednesday kicked off the annual monsoon tree plantation campaign with a pledge to make the country green.

The prime minister planted a sapling of Pinus Roxburgh here at the PM House. Caretaker Minister for Climate Change Muhammad Yusuf Shaikh and senior officials were present at the launch ceremony.

The ministry of climate change has set a target of planting 47.14 million trees during monsoon this year in collaboration with provinces, armed forces, police, civil services, local bodies, corporations, municipalities, autonomous bodies, jails and educational institutions.

According to the targets Punjab would plant 9 million, Sindh 11 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 15 million, Balochistan 0.6 million, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 3.6 million, Gilgit-Baltistan 0.5 million.

The areas previously under FATA have a target 5.3 million, Ministry of Defense one million National Highway Authority (NHA) and International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 0.5 million each, Pakistan Ordinance Factory and Aeronautical Complex have a target of 20,000 each, and Heavy Industries Taxila has set the target of 100,000.

This plantation will be besides the one undergoing in the Green Pakistan Programme. The tree plantation campaigns are frequently conducted to highlight the important role of forests in the improvement of environment, to counter negative impact of climate change and poverty alleviation.

The government has initiated a massive tree planting program in all the provinces and territories of Pakistan through the Green Pakistan Programme, which envisages planting 100 million additional saplings throughout the country. The total cost of the program is Rs.3.652 billion over a period five years from 2017-2021.

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