LAHORE: Air pollution is a long-standing problem in Pakistan, but every October and November contaminates in the air in Punjab province shoot up as farmers burn rice stalks left behind after harvesting to clear their fields to plant wheat.
During these cooler months, the provincial capital Lahore, which is surrounded by rice-growing districts, is covered with thick smog.
“It is a health emergency – the air quality monitors in Lahore routinely show hazardous levels in November,” said Farah Rashid, a climate and energy program coordinator for green group WWF-Pakistan.
Now the Punjab government hopes to tackle the problem by providing 500 rice farmers around Lahore with a set of machines that together eliminate the need to burn crop stubble.
The machines include a shredder that breaks down rice stubble and mulches it into the ground and a seed drill — called the Happy Seeder — that follows to sow wheat through the mulch.
“It’s a useful technology,” said farmer Aaamer Hayat Bhandara, who has used both machines at a friend’s large farm, and has pushed the government to subsidise them.
“These machines used together could really make life much easier for us farmers,” said Bhandara, from Pakpattan in Punjab province.
Malik Amin Aslam, climate change adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan, called air pollution a “silent killer” and said Lahore’s smog had increased in intensity and frequency over the last five years.
He explained that rice farmers traditionally use combine harvesters to cut their rice in October, leaving behind about four inches of stubble.
With less than two weeks before they have to ready their fields to sow wheat, burning is the fastest way to clear the land, he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In Pakistan, rice is grown on an area of about 2 million hectares (5 million acres), mainly in the Punjab and Sindh provinces. Many of the fields are cleared by burning every year.
In October and November, Lahore’s Air Quality Index level can jump to over 300, a number that the US Environmental Protection Agency says corresponds to a “health warning of emergency conditions.”
CUTTING EMISSIONS
Farmers say the new farm equipment can help combat smog, but note that crop burning produces only a small share of the province’s pollution.
“The stubble is burned only for a few weeks in the winter. It is a fact that the problem becomes worse during this short period,” Bhandara said.
“But farmers are not the only reason for this pollution,” he added.
A 2018 report by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on the underlying causes of smog in Punjab noted that agriculture — mainly rice residue burning — accounts for 20% of total air pollutant emissions.
That puts it behind industry, which produces a quarter of the air pollution in the province, and transport, which contributes more than 40%.
Tackling air pollution — and leaving stubble on the soil as mulch, rather than burning it — also has the benefit of reducing carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.
In India, where farmers have been using the rice stubble shredder and Happy Seeder for the past few years, a group of scientists published a report last year stating the technology could cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 78%.
Ejaz Ahmad, an environmental expert with the Institute of Urbanism in Islamabad, said any efforts to curb air pollution will benefit Pakistanis.
“The Happy Seeder seems like a useful machine,” he said.
CHOSEN BY LOTTERY
In Mandi Bahauddin district, where famed Basmati rice is grown, Muhammad Afzal, an agriculture officer at Punjab’s Government Agriculture Seed Farm, has been experimenting with the Happy Seeder for the past two years.
“Stubble management is a serious issue for farmers,” said Afzal, who helps farmers adopt new farming techniques.
Pakistan has penalties for rice stubble burning, including fines of up to 20,000 Pakistani rupees ($125) per acre — but most farmers have little other choice and simply continue the practice and pay the penalty when they are charged.
But a growing number are looking for alternative solutions, Afzal said.
The total cost for the stubble shredder and Happy Seeder is about 637,500 rupees ($4,000), and the government this year is paying about 80% of the price for 500 farmers, he noted.
“For those who can’t afford it, bigger farmers are willing to rent out the machines. In the future, more service providers will come up to rent them out,” Afzal said.
One drawback to the machines, he noted, is the need to mount them on the back of a tractor — and not just any tractor will do.
“It requires a large, 85-horsepower tractor,” he noted, something most rice farmers in Pakistan do not have.
Bhandara, the farmer in Pakpattan, said the subsidised machines also are only available in certain districts around Lahore, in the so-called smog “red zone.”
“The subsidised machines should be made available to rice farmers in South Punjab and Sindh as well, otherwise they are too expensive for most farmers,” he said.
Despite the limitations, the Happy Seeder has proven so popular that the government has had 10 applicants for each of its 500 machines, according to Aslam, the climate change adviser.
He said authorities are using a lottery system to decide who gets the subsidised equipment.
The government has plans to expand the Happy Seeder program next year and cover the whole of the Punjab rice belt by 2023, Aslam noted.
In the meantime, he added, it is already working on a technology upgrade.
“The agriculture extension department has developed a prototype to combine the two shredder (and) seeder machines into one ‘Pak Seeder’, which will be even more effective and efficient” — plus 30% cheaper, he said. ($1 = 159.3100 Pakistani rupees)
Pakistan looks to new tech to curb crop burning and cut smog
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Pakistan looks to new tech to curb crop burning and cut smog
- Punjab government is providing 500 rice farmers around Lahore with a set of machines that together eliminate the need to burn crop stubble
- Among underlying causes of smog in Punjab, agriculture — mainly rice residue burning — accounts for 20% of total air pollutant emissions, UN says
Pakistan rejects US allegations over missile program as ‘devoid of rationality’
- A senior US official this week said Pakistan was developing long-range missiles that could threaten the US
- The statement came after Washington said it was imposing new sanctions related to Pakistan’s missile program
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Saturday dismissed as “unfounded” and “devoid of rationality” the allegations by a senior United States (US) official that its missile program posed a threat to the United States.
The Foreign Office statement came in response to comments made by US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer, who said nuclear-armed Pakistan’s development of long-range ballistic missiles could potentially target the US.
The statement came after the US said it was imposing new sanctions related to Pakistan’s missile program, including on the state-owned defense agency that oversees the program. The sanctions freeze any US property belonging to the targeted entities and bars Americans from doing business with them.
The Foreign Office said that Pakistan had made it abundantly clear that its strategic program and allied capabilities were meant to thwart a “clear and visible existential threat from our neighborhood” — a reference to arch-foe India — and should not be perceived as a threat to any other country.
“The alleged threat perception from Pakistan’s missile capabilities and delivery means, raised by the US official are unfortunate. These allegations are unfounded, devoid of rationality and sense of history,” the Foreign Office said in a statement.
“Since 1954, Pakistan and the US have enjoyed a positive and broad-ranging relationship. The recent spate of US allegations toward a major non-NATO ally would be unhelpful for the overall relationship, especially in the absence of any evidence in this regard. Pakistan has never had any ill-intention toward the US in any form or manner, and this fundamental reality has not changed.”
Finer’s statement underscored how far the once-close ties between Washington and Islamabad had deteriorated since the 2021 US troop withdrawal from Afghanistan. It also raised questions about whether Pakistan has shifted the objectives of nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs long intended to counter those of India, with which it has fought three major wars since 1947.
But the Foreign Office said Pakistan’s strategic capabilities were solely meant to defend its sovereignty, highlighting Pakistan’s long history of cooperation with the US, particularly in the counter-terrorism domain.
“We wish to reiterate that Pakistan’s strategic capabilities are meant to defend its sovereignty and preserve peace and stability in South Asia,” it said.
“Pakistan cannot abdicate its right to develop capabilities that commensurate with the need to maintain credible minimum deterrence as well as evolving and dynamic threats.”
Relations between the US and Pakistan have seen significant ups and downs. The countries collaborated during the Cold War and in the fight against Al-Qaeda after 9/11.
However, ties have been strained due to coups in the South Asian country by Pakistan’s military, support for the Taliban’s 1996-2001 rule in Afghanistan, and over the nuclear weapons program.
Pakistan urges Afghanistan to boost border security as infiltration attempt kills five
- Military says four TTP fighters and a soldier were killed as militants tried to enter Pakistani territory
- Statement comes after media reported a deadly attack on a military outpost that killed 16 soldiers
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan military on Saturday urged the Taliban administration in Kabul to ensure robust border management after a group of militants tried to infiltrate from Afghanistan, leading to a skirmish that left four infiltrators and a soldier dead.
Relations between Islamabad and Kabul have deteriorated in recent years as militant violence surged in Pakistan, fueled by attacks from Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistani officials blame the TTP for the escalating violence, accusing the Afghan authorities of turning a blind eye to militants using their territory to launch cross-border attacks.
However, Kabul denies these allegations, insisting that Pakistan’s internal security is its own responsibility.
“On night 19/20 December, movement of a group of khwarij [TTP militants], trying to infiltrate through Pakistan-Afghanistan border, was picked up by the security forces in general area Rajgal, Khyber District,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations, said in a statement. “Own troops effectively engaged and thwarted their attempt to infiltrate. Resultantly, four Khwarij were sent to hell.”
The statement noted that one of the soldiers, Sepoy Amir Sohail Afridi, also lost his life amid intense exchange of fire.
“Pakistan has consistently been asking Interim Afghan Government to ensure effective border management on their side of the border,” it continued. “Interim Afghan Government is expected to fulfil its obligations and deny the use of Afghan soil by Khwarij for perpetuating acts of terrorism against Pakistan.”
The ISPR statement comes after media reported a deadly attack on a military outpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which was targeted by 30 militants from three sides. According to anonymous intelligence sources, the attack left 16 soldiers dead. The TTP claimed responsibility for targeting the outpost in a statement that described the attack as a retaliation to the recent killings of its top commanders.
The Pakistan military reiterated in its statement it remained committed to securing the borders. It added that its soldiers would also fight to eliminate the menace of militant violence.
Pakistan Taliban claim raid killing 16 soldiers in northwestern province
- Officials confirm privately militants set fire to the wireless communication equipment, documents
- Pakistan’s military has not issued a statement on the siege of its outpost that lasted for two hours
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani Taliban claimed a brazen overnight raid on an army outpost near the border with Afghanistan on Saturday, which intelligence officials said killed 16 soldiers and critically wounded five more.
The siege started after midnight and lasted about two hours as around 30 militants pummelled the mountainous outpost from three sides, one senior intelligence official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
“Sixteen soldiers were martyred and five were critically injured in the assault,” he said. “The militants set fire to the wireless communication equipment, documents and other items present at the checkpoint.”
A second intelligence official also anonymously confirmed the toll of dead and wounded in the attack in the Makeen area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, 40 kilometers (24 miles) from the Afghan border.
Pakistan’s domestic chapter of the Taliban claimed the attack in a statement, saying it was staged “in retaliation for the martyrdom of our senior commanders.”
The group claimed to have seized a hoard of military gear including machine guns and a night vision device.
Pakistan’s military has not yet issued a statement on the incident.
Pakistan has been battling a resurgence of militant violence in its western border regions since the Taliban’s 2021 return to power in Afghanistan.
Islamabad accuses Kabul’s rulers of failing to root out militants staging attacks on Pakistan from over the border.
The Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) — share a common ideology with their Afghan counterparts who surged back to power three years ago.
Kabul’s new rulers have pledged to evict foreign militant groups from Afghan soil.
But a UN Security Council report in July estimated up to 6,500 TTP fighters are based there — and said “the Taliban do not conceive of TTP as a terrorist group.”
The report said the Afghan Taliban show “ad hoc support to, and tolerance of, TTP operations, including the supplying of weapons and permission for training.”
The spike in attacks has soured Islamabad-Kabul relations. Security was cited as one reason for Pakistan’s campaign last year to evict hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan migrants.
Pakistan military sentences 25 to prison over May 9 violence, with more verdicts expected
- The sentencing is likely to raise concerns among PTI since Imran Khan faces charges of inciting people
- The ISPR says justice will truly be served when the ‘mastermind and planners’ of May 9 are punished
KARACHI: The Pakistan military on Saturday sentenced 25 people to prison for participating in the violent protests that erupted on May 9, 2023, when hundreds carrying the party flags of former Prime Minister Imran Khan attacked government buildings and vandalized military properties.
The protests, which broke out in different Pakistani cities, followed Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges from an Islamabad court, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments.
Subsequently, hundreds of leaders and supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were imprisoned, despite their denial of involvement in violence and claims that the May 9 incident was a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing their party.
The government and military also asserted they had gathered ample evidence that the attack on the country’s most powerful institution was carefully planned and executed by the PTI leadership, sharing videos of the attacks showing people setting fire to government and military properties.
“On 9 May 2023, nation witnessed tragic incidents of politically provoked violence and arson at multiple places, marking a dark chapter in the history of Pakistan,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in a statement, listing down names of all 25 people with sentences ranging from two to 10 years. “Building on a sustained narrative of hate and lies, politically orchestrated attacks were carried out on the installations of the Armed Forces including desecration of the monuments of Shuhada [martyrs].”
It informed that it gathered “irrefutable evidence” against these people after conducting investigations to prosecute those arrested in the wake of the incident. “This is an important milestone in dispensation of justice to the nation,” the ISPR added. “It is also a stark reminder to all those who are exploited by the vested interests and fall prey to their political propaganda and intoxicating lies, to never take law in own hands ever in the future.”
The statement informed the military would share the details of other individuals whose cases had also been referred to the Field General Court Martial.
The ISPR said its announced followed a ruling by a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on December 13 in which it allowed the military courts to share its verdict.
Prior to that, the court had unanimously declared last year that prosecuting civilians in military courts was in violation of the Constitution.
The sentencing of 25 individuals is likely to raise concerns among supporters of Imran Khan, who faces charges of inciting attacks against the armed forces and may potentially be tried in a military court.
The ISPR noted that many accused in the May 9 attacks are also facing trials in various anti-terrorism courts.
“However, justice would truly be fully served once the mastermind and planners of 9th May Tragedy are punished as per the Constitution and laws of the land,” it added.
The statement highlighted the significance of establishing “inviolable writ of the State,” as it pointed out that all convicts retained the right to appeal, as guaranteed by the law and the constitution.
Scoop of deceit: Pakistan’s competition watchdog freezes multinationals’ misleading ice cream ads
- Manufacturers of “Walls” and “Omore” have been penalized for passing off ‘frozen desserts’ as ice cream
- The Competition Commission of Pakistan has imposed Rs75 million of fine on each of the two companies
KARACHI: In a chilling blow to “deceptive marketing,” the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) on Friday imposed a hefty fine of Rs75 million ($269,530) each on two multinational companies, Unilever Pakistan and Friesland Campina Engro, for misleading consumers by advertising their products as “ice cream.”
The CCP took action following a complaint by Pakistan Fruit Juice Company, the manufacturer of “Hico,” which objected to the marketing practices adopted by its rivals.
The CCP maintained that the two companies were selling “frozen desserts” while passing them off as ice cream, a distinct product category made from milk, cream or other dairy products.
“It is held that a false and misleading impression of ‘frozen dessert’ as ‘ice cream’ was created and continued by the Respondents through their advertisements, in order to make the consumers believe that ‘frozen dessert’ products are also ‘ice cream,’” the CCP said in its written order.
“The Respondents advertised, labelled and marketed their products without disclosing the true nature of their products as frozen desserts,” it continued, adding that the two companies “took economic advantage of their deceptive marketing practices to the detriment of consumers welfare.”
The CCP’s ruling referenced the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA) and the Punjab Pure Food Regulations 2018, which define “frozen dessert” and “ice cream” as distinct products.
According to these standards, “ice cream” is made from milk, cream, or other dairy products, while “frozen desserts” are prepared from a pasteurized mix consisting of edible vegetable oils and other ingredients.
The CCP also noted that other countries, including the US, India and Australia, maintain the same standards, where the term “ice cream” can only be applied to dairy-based products.
The commission instructed the companies to stop their current marketing practices and remove advertisements presenting frozen desserts as ice cream.
It instructed them to provide clear disclosures about their products’ nature and ingredients, adding that failure to comply with the verdict within 30 days would result in additional fines.
