FO congratulates Aisha Khan over winning top environmental award

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal congratulated a Pakistani woman, Aisha Khan, over winning the top environmental award, 2019 Stanford Bright Award, over her contributions to protect the environment and help residents in the high-altitude mountain regions of Pakistan.

Dr Mohammad Faisal, in his statement on Saturday, praised efforts of Aisha Khan, who is the founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Mountain and Glacier Protection Organization (MGPO) and Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), for creating awareness of cleanliness and preservation of high mountain regions.

“Aisha Khan has set an example for all and it is also a pride for Pakistan to win global award of mountains and environmental protection,” the spokesperson added.

Faisal said that the Stanford Bright Award is an admission of Aisha Khan’s efforts on international level which would also benefit Pakistan to promote tourism. The spokesperson urged the world to play its role in the protection of the environment.

Aisha Khan had taken the initiative to establish Mountain and Glacier Protection Organisation (MGPO) after witnessing the amount of pollution during her trekking trip in the glacier-filled home of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world.

She engaged in different activities of cleaning up the area and also worked for the welfare of villagers in order to restore and preserve the beautification of the high mountains’ region.

“Witnessing the environmental degradation of that magical landscape was perhaps the turning point in my consciousness,” Aisha Khan told Stanford News, adding, “It was then that I fully understood the elemental power of nature and felt compelled by an inner urge to preserve and protect the environment.”

This annual $100,000 award, Stanford’s largest environmental prize, recognizes exceptional contributions to global sustainability and is given to an organization in one of 10 rotating regions each year.

In recognition of her activism and accomplishments, Aisha Khan has been awarded the 2019 Stanford Bright Award.

The prize was made possible by a gift to Stanford Law School from Ray Bright, Stanford Law School class of 1959, a lifelong conservationist, and his wife, Marcelle. This is the seventh year the prize has been awarded.