ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) took notice and sought details of the PTI-led government’s Billion Tree Tsunami project in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, heard the case pertaining to tree plantation on the banks of rivers and canals. The court also summoned the secretary of climate change and issues contempt of court notices to Sindh and Punjab governments over failure to submit a report on the matter.
The chief justice remarked that the affairs of the Sindh government were beyond comprehension, adding that “Sindh is the only province whose affairs are run in a different way.”
During the hearing, Justice Gulzar asked a representative of the Islamabad administration where it has planted the 500,000 trees. “Were they planted in Bani Gala? There are no trees planted along the rivers from Islamabad to Karachi,” he added.
“There are no trees in Nathia Gali, Malam Jabba, Murree and even Peshawar,” observed the top judge. Addressing the K-P environment secretary, the chief justice said that the entire K-P environment department is a thief. “You should be sent straight to jail,” he stated.
The bench sought details of the funds spent on the Billion Tree Tsunami including records of expenditure and their justification, and count of trees planted along with photographic evidence.
