Altaf Hamid Rao.
MUZAFFARABAD/MIRPUR (AJK), (Parliament Times) : The Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Sardar Abdul Qayyum Niazi, has underlined the need to protect the forest wealth and to maintain the natural beauty of the state to provide a conducive environment for future generations
He expressed these views while addressing a departmental briefing given by Additional Chief Secretary Forests Fayyaz Ali Abbasi here on Wednesday. Forest Minister Muhammad Akmal Hussain Sargala was also present on the occasion. The Prime Minister said the development of forests can play a vital role to check global warming. He said steps should be intensified against the timber mafia and added that deforestation will not be tolerated under any circumstances. It is important to plant as many trees as possible to avoid climate change.
The Prime Minister said that the best measures taken by the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan to prevent climate change were appreciated all over the world. He said under the Billion Tree Tsunami Project the Azad Kashmir will be turned into a green area according to the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan. In the last ten years the forest department has been neglected, however funds for the forest department will be increased in the annual development program and the government will provide all resources for the betterment of the institutions. The Prime Minister said that the only way to avoid the rapid rise in the temperature of the planet is to plant as many trees as possible and added that It is the collective responsibility of all of us to protect it by planting a tree. He said that deforestation was affecting not only the natural environment but also human beings and wildlife as well and called for taking urgent steps to stop deforestation. The Prime Minister also urged the people to fulfill their responsibility in stopping deforestation and to cooperate with the forest staff by identifying the timber mafia. The Prime Minister directed for plantation maximum trees in the Billion Tree Tsunami Project as per the vision of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan and urged for effective monitoring of the Billion Tree Tsunami Project.
