Pakistan to take up smog issue with India at ‘diplomatic level’ — official

Commuters make their way amid heavy smog along a road in Multan on February 16, 2023. (AFP/File)

• Pakistan’s Punjab, particularly Lahore city, suffers from smog every year from October till February 
• Official says decision was taken on the request of Chief Minister of Pakistan’s Punjab Mohsin Naqvi 

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government will take up with India the critical matter of stubble burning in Indian Punjab, which causes smog and affects air quality in the Pakistani Punjab region, a provincial government official said on Tuesday, with the air quality in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore already declining to a hazardous level this year.
Air quality in major Pakistani cities falls short of the National Environment Quality Standards (NEQS), with industrial, vehicular, domestic and construction-related emissions as well as pollutants from brick kilns and agricultural waste-burning being key contributors to the issue.
The smog season peaks between October and February every year due to the common practice of burning the crop residue, particularly in Indian Punjab, to prepare the soil for the upcoming planting season. This smoke significantly contributes to the presence of hazardous particles in the air and causes smog on the Pakistani side of the Punjab region.
Due to its geographical proximity with Indian Punjab — just 20 kilometers from the border — Lahore particularly suffers from poor air quality from the start of October every year. The provincial capital, which consistently ranks among the world’s most polluted cities, reported an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 337 on Tuesday, according to IQAir global air quality monitoring platform. Air is considered safe when the AQI is below 50.
The issue causes serious health problems and accidents in Lahore and other areas of Pakistan’s Punjab province, where people complain of difficulty in breathing and having sore eyes, and authorities often restrict road travel via motorways due to near-zero visibility.
“During a briefing to Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on Monday, Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi requested that the issue of smog should be taken up at a proper diplomatic level with India by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” Muhammad Rafiullah, public relations officer to the chief minister, told Arab News.
“On his request, the prime minister said they will look into this matter and now a letter will be written to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by the federal government to contact India through diplomatic channels on this issue.”
Arab News reached out to the Pakistani Foreign Office and the office of PM Kakar, but they did not respond to its queries for a comment on the matter.
Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi said he was not aware of any communication between the Punjab chief minister and the prime minister regarding a decision to take up the issue of smog with India.
Rafiullah, however, insisted that the main reason behind smog on the Pakistani side of the border, especially in Lahore, was the burning of crop residue in Indian Punjab.
“There is a lot of burning in India due to which the level of smoke has increased and the impact is all over Lahore,” he said.
The Punjab CM’s PRO said this was not the first time that Pakistan would contact India on this issue, noting that ex-PM Shehbaz Sharif, during his tenure as the Punjab chief minister, had written a letter to his Indian counterpart in 2017 and urged him to collectively deal with the issue of smog.
The Punjab government was also taking action to control pollution which was another major contributor to smog, according to the official.
“The Punjab government has taken strict measures against tire burnings, high-smoke industries and vehicles emitting heavy smoke,” he said.