PM Imran urges nation to join plantation drive on Aug 9

Target for the day is 3.5 million trees across Pakistan

ISLAMABAD:

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday urged the people to join him in a tree plantation drive across the country on August 9. 

The premier, in a tweet, said he had also asked MPs, ministers, chief ministers and the volunteer Tiger Force to participate in the "biggest tree planting campaign in our history". The target is 3.5 million trees to be planted in a day, said the prime minister. 

He expressed hope that the plantation target will be exceeded. 

I want everyone to join me tomorrow, 9 Aug, in planting trees all over Pak. Have asked my MPs, ministers, Chief Ministers and Tiger Force to participate in the biggest tree planting campaign in our history. The target is 35 lakh trees in a day though we will try to exceed it.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) August 8, 2020

The government continues to pursue its ambitious plan of planting over 10 billion trees across the country. The project is an up-scaled version of the project implemented by the PTI government in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa between 2013 and 2018.

Earlier, the World Bank expressed its interest to provide $188 million to fund the upcoming Ecosystem Restoration Initiative aims at implementing the ‘Ten Billion Tree Tsunami’ and ‘Recharge Pakistan’ programmes.

The $188 million fund will be placed under the National Disaster Risk Management Fund (NDRMF), as it already has a framework and mechanism in place for quick and efficient disbursement of the money.