In a poignant expression by student named Mujahid Islam, a nature lover who points at the mismanagement of Pakistan’s green spaces by inept government officials is causing desertification at an alarming pace. This dire situation paints them as adversaries to the environment. If I were to pass judgment, I’d envision them stranded in the heart of the Sahara desert to comprehend the significance of a verdant environment and its crucial role in our ecology, including sustaining water resources.
Mujahid Islam’s online complaint, shared in a screenshot, unveils the societal indifference toward the environment that sustains lives and livelihoods. In times of drought, they gasp for air, yearning for rain, yet when it comes to safeguarding trees and plants vital for environmental balance, there’s a collective silence, an absence of advocacy.
I implore the leaders in our governance structure, be it the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, or Chief Conservator of Forests in the KP province, to awaken from their slumber. They must prevent Peshawar from mirroring Lahore’s fate—a city plagued by smog, potentially resorting to artificial rain for survival, burdening congested lungs with chimney-like smoke. The reckless felling of mature trees along the road medians must cease immediately. Those responsible must be held accountable for this environmental devastation, lest one day, Peshawar, once renowned as the city of flowers, becomes a lifeless desert, ruled by chiefs in a governance system overseeing an arid wasteland