Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif on Sunday said making the province clean and green and ensuring a healthy population was the government's top priority. In her message on World Cleanup Day, she said a clean Punjab was the foundation of a healthy and prosperous future, while the Suthra Punjab project would lay the basis for a healthier province.

The chief minister said the programme was one of the largest projects of its kind in the world and that for the first time, a systematic cleanliness programme had been launched not only in cities but also in 25,000 villages. She said the cleanliness of roads, streets and neighbourhoods was also being monitored through Safe City cameras. "Ensuring cleanliness in streets and neighbourhoods is the government's responsibility, but maintaining it is citizens' duty," she said.

Maryam said sustainable and environment-friendly measures were being implemented under the Suthra Punjab programme, including waste management, recycling and cleanliness of public places. She stressed that maintaining a clean environment was essential for protecting the planet and preventing diseases, adding that a clean environment ensured a better quality of life.

"Keeping our surroundings clean is our collective social responsibility," she said, urging citizens to dispose of waste properly, avoid the use of plastic and play their role in keeping their homes, streets and neighbourhoods clean. CM Maryam Nawaz also expressed appreciation for the successful operation against terrorists near Kalat on the Chaman-Karachi N-25 highway, paying tribute to the security forces for killing five terrorists and safely recovering 23 hostages.