PM announces establishment of 15 national parks.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday announced the establishment of 15 national parks in all the federating units as part of efforts to protect nature.

Launching the 'Protected Area Initiative' on Thursday, the prime minister said that guidelines will be given to the provinces to preserve these national parks. He said that this is a major initiative for future generations.

He expressed satisfaction that all the provinces are participating in this initiative which will also provide job opportunities to the youth. The prime minister pointed out that global warming and climate change pose serious threat to Pakistan. 'This is the reason we launched Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme to counter this threat. Protecting green areas and parks will also help in this endeavour,' he added.

The premier directed the provinces to take the threat seriously and undertake the requisite steps for the protection of green areas. He said that Pakistan has a diverse landscape and has 12 ecological climatic zones.

He, however, regretted that nothing was done in the past 70 years to protect the forest cover. He stressed for developing master plans for the cities and making protection of green area basic component of town planning.

Highlighting the potential of eco-tourism in the country, he said, 'We are opening areas for tourism.' He, however, asked the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to frame bylaws before opening the tourist spots. 'We also...