Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Sindh on Sunday initiated work on creating an urban forest in Karachi.
PTI Sindh’s Additional General Secretary Rizwan Niazi announced the plan to plant 100,000 trees as part of their tree plantation campaign. Continuing this effort, 3,000 saplings were planted at Hyperstar Park in Clifton under the leadership of PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh.
The event saw participation from key PTI figures including Additional General Secretary Rizwan Niazi, acting Karachi President Jafar-ul-Hassan others. Under the guidance of Haleem Adil Sheikh, the urban forest initiative was inaugurated with the planting of 3,000 saplings at Hyperstar Park in front of Dolmen Mall Clifton Karachi.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh addressed the media, emphasizing the party’s commitment to mitigating heat through nationwide tree planting. Announcing PTI Sindh’s plan to plant 100,000 trees, Sheikh stressed the urgent need to combat global warming in collaboration with the public.
Sheikh highlighted the alarming death toll in Karachi due to extreme heat, questioning the government’s inaction. He criticized the destruction of large trees in areas like near FTC building Gulistan-e-Jauhar and others areas of Karachi, blaming the Sindh government’s policies for turning the city into a concrete jungle, exacerbating the heat and leading to numerous deaths.
Praising PTI’s efforts in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Sheikh noted the transformation of KP into a green belt. He criticized the Sindh government’s mismanagement and corruption, which he claimed had led to severe environmental degradation in Karachi.
Sheikh also addressed the rising inflation, blaming the government for paying exorbitant amounts to a few families through Independent Power Producers (IPPs) contracts. He highlighted the burden on the public, with high electricity, fuel, and food prices, calling for immediate reforms to alleviate the people’s suffering.
PTI Sindh President Haleem Adil Sheikh, speaking to the media, addressed various issues including the government’s restrictions and the economic challenges facing the country. He expressed confidence that Imran Khan would soon be released from jail and become Prime Minister, promising to terminate the unproductive Independent Power Producers (IPPs) contracts and provide significant relief to the public.
Sheikh criticized the current government, stating that their mismanagement had led to international embarrassment for Pakistan. He mentioned that China excluded Pakistan from its conference and Arab countries refused to provide petroleum due to the current government’s flawed policies.
PTI Sindh’s Additional General Secretary Rizwan Niazi spoke about the urban forest initiative, stating that various parks in Karachi would be transformed into urban forests, starting with the barren parks in Saddar Town. The second phase of the project will extend to other cities in Sindh, including Hyderabad, Sukkur, Nawabshah, and Mirpurkhas. Niazi highlighted Karachi’s poor ranking in pollution and corruption, attributing it to the neglect by PPP and MQM. He assured that PTI would soon be in power and turn Karachi into an international city.
Acting PTI Karachi Division President Jafar ul Hassan stressed the party’s commitment to combating pollution across all sectors. He emphasized the ongoing tree plantation drive, citing the Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) advice to plant a tree even if the end of the world is imminent. Hassan urged religious scholars to encourage people during Friday sermons to plant trees in memory of their deceased loved ones to help reduce heat.
PTI leader and Chairman of Saddar Town, Mansoor Sheikh, lamented that Karachi, once a beautiful city, had become a concrete jungle. He announced a new regulation passed by the Saddar Town council mandating every household to plant a tree in front of their home, with fines for non-compliance. Sheikh underscored the urgency of creating a green belt in Karachi to counter the rising temperatures due to global warming, warning that living in the city will become increasingly difficult if action is not taken.
PTI South President and MPA Sindh Rehan Bandokada highlighted that tree planting is a collective responsibility, not just PTI’s initiative. He pointed out that the extreme heat this year resulted in hundreds of deaths, emphasizing the need for a green belt in Karachi. bandokda appealed to the citizens of Karachi to start tree plantation drives in their respective areas and work together to make the city greener.