PESHAWAR: A tree plantation campaign was formally launched under the auspices of the Khudai Khidmatgar Organisation, with Awami National Party (ANP) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa president and Chairman Board of Directors of the organisation, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, inaugurating the drive by planting a sapling at the Bacha Khan Markaz in Peshawar.

According to a statement issued here on Tuesday a number of party and organisational office-bearers, members and volunteers were present on the occasion, including Khudai Khidmatgar Organisation salar-i-azam Engr Ejaz Yousafzai, provincial salar Dr Naveedullah Khan, divisional salar Malik Farhad, ANP Swabi president Asifur Rehman and district salar Aziz Ghaffar.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Hussain said the Khudai Khidmatgar Organisation was again holding the plantation campaign this year in continuation of its annual tradition, describing it as a practical extension of Bacha Khan’s teachings.

He said Bacha Khan himself used to plant saplings during the same season and continued the practice it even while in prison despite hardships, which, he added, reflected the movement’s long-standing commitment to nature, environmental protection and public welfare.

He urged party office-bearers, workers and members of all affiliated wings to actively participate in the campaign and raise public awareness so that citizens could also play their role in what he termed a national duty. He said global warming, floods, untimely rains and other climate-related changes had become serious challenges, making plantation and forest cover expansion indispensable.

Mr Hussain said trees were a source of oxygen and ensured a clean environment and healthier lives, adding that planting trees was both an act of charity and a shared responsibility.

Published in Dawn, February 4th, 2026