Gilani kicks off tree planting drive

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Sunday launched monsoon tree plantation campaign, dedicating year 2009 to environment protection and greener Pakistan.

He kicked off the plantation campaign by planting a sapling of araucaria in the lawns of Prime Minister's House.

Talking to newsmen, he symbolised the freshly planted sapling with a tree of democracy which he said grew in the hands of Benazir Bhutto.

He said forests covered five percent of the land and would be stretched over 6 percent by 2015.