HAZRO: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday has urged the youth to play their due role in making the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami drive a success to protect the country from adverse impact of the climate change.

Addressing the launching ceremony of Spring Tree Plantation Campaign at Ghazi Barotha on Friday, he said trees are vital to preserve the future of coming generations as Pakistan is amongst the ten most affected countries of the world by the negative impact of the climate change. He asked the youth to protect trees and the government will provide them sports grounds.

Imran Khan said 70 percent of Lahore's tree cover was eroded and the previous regimes paid no heed to that regard. He said we have to plant more trees to reverse the adverse impact of climate change.

Responding to some demands raised by Malik Amin Aslam, the special assistant on climate change, for the area, Imran Khan announced setting up of Special Technology zone at Kamra. He said the entire Punjab, including Attock district, will be provided with universal health coverage under Insaf Health Card by the end of this year. The Prime Minister said it has been government's policy to give priority to local people for jobs in projects established in an area.

PM Imran Khan said that with masses and corrupt politicians standing on opposite sides, the nation was passing through a decisive moment, and Pakistan with the grace of Allah Almighty will emerge victorious.

“This is a decisive moment for the nation. Masses are on one side, while these thieves and dacoits are on the other. Insha Allah Pakistan will emerge victorious,” Imran Khan said while addressing a function after the inauguration of tree plantation drive in Ghazi Barotha under his initiative of 10 Billion Tree Tsunami.

The Prime Minister while criticizing the previous governments said during the last 30 years big thieves and corrupt politicians not only hurt the country through their loot and plunder of the public resources but destroyed the moral value as well.

“They created such an impression that corruption is not a bad thing,” he remarked and questioned can anybody cite any example of a country which achieved progress and development in the atmosphere of corruption.

The Prime Minister said the country was not affected much due to the corruption of `Patwaris’,`Thanedars’ or other government functionaries but when prime minister or ministers indulged in corruption, the country was badly hurt.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, State Minister for Climate Change Zartaj Gul, Special Assistant to PM Shahbaz Gill and Senator Faisal Javed were also present besides a large numbers of youths and notables from the area.

Imran Khan said when a prime minister stole the public money, he would stash it abroad through money laundering. “Stealing the public money causes one loss to country and the money laundering causes another big one,” he remarked.

“When prime ministers steal the public money, their children own palaces abroad and (corrupt) ministers also hold Iqamas (residence permits) of other countries, throwing their own country into a debt trap,” he added.

The prime minister said when a country was burdened with debt, it had to seek foreign assistance by compromising its respect and dignity.

“While those (rulers) hurt the country, they and their children, son-in-laws and brother-in-laws lead aristocratic lives abroad.

“When I see Ishaq Dar and Nawaz Sharif riding a Roll Royce in London, it appears that they were not born in Gwalmandi but in London,” Imran Khan remarked.

About the Senate polls, the prime minister said with a market established across the country for the sale and purchase of the members of Parliament, corrupt practices had been going on for the senators’ election for the last 30 years.

He was critical of the opposition parties for opposing the government’s efforts for holding the Senate elections through open ballot, saying those, who were in favour of the open ballot process for Senate polls in the past were now opposing the idea.

The opposition parties, he said, had a change of mind after their failure at the Minar-e-Pakistan rally, during FATF (Financial Action Task Force) legislation and in other moves.

“Now they want to get more seats in the Senate by purchasing our members. What kind of democracy is it?” he remarked.

The prime minister recalled that in 2018, the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) despite having only six members in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly secured two Senate seats.