KARACHI: Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) Karachi on Friday launched its annual Green Karachi tree plantation campaign, announcing plans to establish an urban forest in each of the nine JI-administered towns to help restore the city’s rapidly shrinking green cover.
Addressing a press conference at Johar Park in Delhi Mercantile Society, JI Karachi chief Monem Zafar said the party’s nine towns had restored 278 parks during the past three years and introduced the concept of urban forests. He was accompanied by Karachi Metropolitan Corporation opposition leader Saifuddin Advocate, town chairmen, women office-bearers and councillors.
He said each of the nine towns would develop one more urban forest this year and install water-harvesting systems to support environmental conservation.
Monem Zafar said climate change was affecting countries around the world and recalled Karachi’s deadly heatwaves of 2015 and 2016. He blamed unchecked urban expansion and poor governance for the city’s declining green spaces, alleging that thousands of trees were cut during the construction of the Red Line and Green Line bus projects.
He said Karachi’s green cover had fallen to around two per cent, far below the estimated 25 to 30 per cent required for a city of its size. Citing international standards, he said there should be one tree for every seven people.
Despite limited powers and resources, he said, JI remained committed to making Karachi greener and continuing development work in the towns under its administration.
He said women would play an active role in the campaign, while its formal launch would be held at Idara Noor-i-Haq on August 1. Describing tree plantation as a lasting charitable act, he urged every Karachi resident to plant trees and ensure their protection.
Referring to JI chief Hafiz Naeemur Rehman’s call for nationwide protests against the petroleum levy, Monem Zafar announced that the party’s women’s wing would hold a march on Shahrah-i-Quaidin at 3:30 pm on August 3, where Hafiz Naeemur Rehman would deliver a special address. He added that JI would also stage protests across Karachi on August 7 as part of the nationwide campaign.
He also criticised the federal and provincial governments over Karachi’s governance, law and order, and civic conditions. He said residents continued to face poor civic services and rising crime, claiming that official figures showed around 40,000 street crime incidents had been reported during the first six months of the year.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026