Protection of country's environment top priority for govt, says PM Imran.

Prime Minister Imran Khan addressing the 7th Asian Regional Conservation Forum of International Union for Conservation of Nature in Islamabad on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Radio Pakistan

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said that the protection of the country's environment is a top priority of his government.

Addressing the 7th Asian Regional Conservation Forum of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Islamabad, the prime minister highlighted the natural diversity of Pakistan.

According to Radio Pakistan, he said that the country has twelve ecological zones from deserts to Himalayan forests which are rare in the world. However, he noted that population growth and a lack of interest in the protection of environment in the past had devastated wildlife and forests in the country.

Read more: What's it like to suffer from climate change in Pakistan?

Prime Minister Imran said the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the first to deal with climate change by launching the Billion Tree Tsunami project. He credited the local population for the success of the initiative as well as action against timber mafia in the province.

He said the federal government has now embarked on an ambitious plan of planting 10 billion trees. He announced that the government will now launch massive tree plantation drives across the...