PTI believes in ground progress instead of ‘ad progress’: Imran

ISLAMABAD: PTI Chairman Imran Khan on Tuesday said the party believes in ground progress instead of just advertisement progress.

He claimed that his party would form the government in all the provinces in next elections. He said the timber mafia in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which had been defeated now, had cut trees worth Rs200 billion in the last 10 years.

“There are two massive issues of climate change and pollution and we have to take a decision to fight this together as a nation and God willing, the PTI will be doing that by forming the next government,” he asserted during an event here in connection with the KP government’s Billion Tree Tsunami programme. Imran said the PTI would make Pakistan’s turnaround possible, as the other political parties always thought of their own interests, instead of those of the nation.

“This billion tree tsunami convention is important for the future of Pakistan! The discipline I am seeing here today makes me believe that PTI is becoming an institution. I want to congratulate Pervaiz Khattak and the KP government, who have achieved this with full commitment,” he said referring to the event that marked the completion of the billion tree programme.

Under the project, he pointed out, they planted one billion trees in three years and then have got it audited too.

“This is not just advertisement progress... this is actually ground progress. This has also proven that the people of Pakistan can do anything if they put their mind to it. We don't need companies from Turkey or anywhere else to do projects here. As long as there is a vision and then no political involvement, you can achieve anything. We ourselves have destroyed our bureaucracy in Pakistan otherwise it is capable of achieving anything,” he noted.

This, he emphasised, also proved that if we ever take up any big challenge, the people of the country are ready to take it on. “I started with cricket; and I learnt in the county cricket system.... I came back, saw how much talent there is but no structure. Even today there is no structure but despite that we won the World Cup. But we have so much talent that given the opportunity we can achieve anything,” Imran said.

Then, he narrated how he resolved to build a cancer hospital for the treatment, mainly of the poor patients after the death of his mother, who also died of cancer.

“Yes Pakistan has problems but you are its solution. Till our political leadership does not think of humans, and keeps thinking of just winning the next election... this nation will never progress. Nations progress when they think of the generations ahead,” the PTI chief said.

He said Pakistan is seventh country most affected by climate change in the world. “Planting trees is the first frontline move against this. Because we have achieved it successfully in KP, we can now replicate it across Pakistan. Secondly, the pollution that we are seeing in Lahore, it is above the normal rates of pollution. Our Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital lung specialist has told us that children are the biggest victims of this; it can lead to stunted lung growth which he says will start showing in the next 4-5 years if we do not start countering it,” he said.

Meanwhile, PPP leader in Punjab Rana Aftab formally announced to join the PTI during his meeting with the party secretary general Jehangir Tareen.   Meanwhile, Imran congratulated the IGEM Peshawar for winning silver medal at International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition in Boston. “Congratulations to IGEM Peshawar for winning silver medal in International Genetically Engineered Machine Competition in Boston,” he wrote in his social media account.