Protection of country's environment is top priority of govt: PM.

ISLAMABAD -- Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the protection of the country's environment is top priority of the government.

He was addressing the 7th Asian Regional Conservative Forum of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The Prime Minister said Pakistan is a diverse country. It has twelve ecological zones from desert to Himalayan forests which are rare in the world. He, however, said the population growth and the lack of interest for protection of environment in the past devastated our wildlife and forests.

Imran Khan said the PTI government in Khyber Pakhunkhwa was the first government which took the first major step to deal with the climate change by launching the billion tree Tsuanmi project. He said the magic formula of the success of this initiative was that local people including women were involved besides action was taken action against the timber mafia.

Imran Khan said the federal government of PTI has now embarked upon an ambitious plan of planting ten billion trees. He said this year we will launch massive tree plantation drives across the country as the necessary planning and infrastructure including nurseries have been developed...