PESHAWAR: With the support of students, teachers and masses, the Climate Change, Forestry, Environment & Wildlife Department on Friday planted 1.73 million saplings in different parts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as it launched the monsoon plantation campaign 2026.
On the Independence Day, the officials also panted saplings of different plants on the occasion of flag hoisting ceremony.
“The students and teachers participation in the plantation was very encouraging,” project director Billion Tree Afforestation Support Project (BTASP) Mohammad Junaid Dayar told Dawn, adding they surpassed the target of 1.4 million plantation set by the department on the Independence Day.
Afridi reaffirms focus on public welfare, Imran Khan’s vision
Mr Dayar said that the plantation was carried out on 40 sites located in 15 districts of the province.
The mega event of plantation was held in Speenkhak area of the district Nowshera, where 50,000 plants were planted, divisional forest officer Muhammad Shakeel told Dawn.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi inaugurated the plantation drive in Speenkhak area, wherein ministers, officials of the forest department and a large number of the locals also participated.
“We will plant 0.54 million plants at 10,000 kanal land in Speenkhak till March 30 next year,” the DFO said, adding this mega plantation was part of the Peshawar Revitalisation Programme.
Junaid Dayar said that a dedicated dashboard had been prepared for the plantation drive, receiving live data on every tree planted across the province including photographs and GPS coordinates.
“We had shared the link of the dashboard with the masses, who shared their data with the department,” he said, adding a focal person was deputed at each plantation site.
The campaign was carried out through ongoing initiatives including the Up-scaling Green Pakistan Programme (10-Billion Tree Afforestation Programme), BTASP, Recharge Pakistan and the Peshawar Revitalisation Programme.
It may be mentioned the forest department conducts two flagship plantation campaigns annually: the spring plantation campaign and the monsoon plantation campaign.
These initiatives are central to the provincial strategy for expanding forest cover, mitigating climate change impacts and promoting environmental sustainability, he said.
‘The plantation campaign has been designed with a strong focus on sustainability. Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi while addressing the inauguration ceremony on the occasion of Independence Day said, instead of spending national resources on wasteful activities, the provincial government has taken a practical step for the future of the country and the nation through a tree-plantation drive.
He said 1.7 million saplings have been planted across the province, adding that tree-plantation was part of Imran Khan’s vision and it was the very foundation of our nation’s future.
The CM said that due to climate change, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was increasingly facing cloudbursts, flash floods and other natural disasters, causing extensive damage. In these circumstances, he stressed that promoting and expanding forests was an urgent need of the hour.
The chief minister directed the Forest Department to construct huts at all major tourist destinations and forest sites across the province to attract tourists and raise awareness about the government’s initiatives to promote and protect forests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The chief minister said that the top priority of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government was people of the province.
He said that no power could intimidate or suppress them and they would not retreat from Imran Khan’s vision.
Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2026