KARACHI: Former ambassador of Pakistan and advisor of Aga Khan University, Dr. Jameel Ahmed Khan has said that the steps taken by Aga Khan University and Hospital to control environmental pollution are worthy of emulation.
The current president of Aga Khan University, Sulaiman Shahabuddin, has included environmental pollution in the biggest priorities of his institution and is to implement these priorities. He has also established a department of environmental sustainability in his office, as a result of which all the institutions of Aga Khan University have set a bright example in the country by giving up the use of plastic.
He expressed these views in his speech on the occasion of World Environment Day at Aga Khan University Hospital. In this seminar, important institutions from all over Pakistan participated and the speakers expressed their views regarding environmental pollution.
At the end of the ceremony, Aga Khan University President’s EXECUTIVE OFFICER Rabia Saleem expressed gratitude to the participants.
Addressing the participants of the event, Dr. Jameel Ahmed Khan said that Aga Khan University as an institution has abandoned the use of plastic in all its institutions worldwide and these measures will have an impact on all institutions of Aga Khan by 2030.
He said that the environment has become a huge problem for the whole world including Pakistan, about 400 million i.e. 40 million tons of plastic is produced in the world, of which about ninety percent is flowing into the seas, rivers, and lakes of the world.
Dr. Jameel Ahmed Khan said that when the forms of plastic change, it affects not only humans, but also marine life, which affects not only health but also reproduction and mental health.
He said that now it has come to this point that the invisible microplastic particles are dissolving in water and air and spreading like canker sores and its particles are also found in human blood tests and mother’s milk.
Due to air pollution in the vicinity of Karachi, aquatic life is also facing serious threats. He said that the fish are dying and those that survive become so dangerous that they make the eaters prone to various diseases.
Due to the inclusion of these plastic particles in the feed given to poultry products, the food of humans is becoming poisoned and the aquatic life is facing the threat of extinction due to the fact that most of the garbage in Karachi is visible to the sea.
In today’s era, environmental challenges have become very important not only for organizations but also for every sector of life, on which practical and meaningful measures are indispensable to improve the situation.
