THATTA: Speakers at a ceremony in Hussainabad and Tarr Khowaja villages here on Sunday highlighted importance of planting trees and keeping environment clean and green and ecosystem healthy and nature-friendly.

Leaders of Shia Ismaili Council, Sujawal District Forest Officer (DFO), taluka and district education officers and Ismaili scouts took part in the activity during which 250 saplings were planted.

Aslam Parvez, local leader of Ismaili community, highlighted services of the community for the country and said that they wanted to work together with the forest department to make the area green.

He said the spiritual leader of the community Prince Karim Aga Khan had predicted environmental changes and global warming long ago and since 2015 his network AKDN had been working to ward off this threat.

Secretary of Ismaili Council for Thatta and Shah Bunder, Niaz Hussain Khowaja, said that following an agreement between the federal government and the council the Ismaili community would extend support for planting around one million trees across the country under its organisation that was currently working on environmental changes in around 30 different countries of the world as per directions of Aga Khan.

The DFO announced setting up parks and orchards in the villages to further add to their beauty.

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2021