ISLAMABAD: The Punjab provincial administration announced Wednesday it will impose “green lockdowns” in Lahore’s smog hotspots as the city faces dangerously high Air Quality Index (AQI) levels, prompting strict measures to protect residents’ health and reduce escalating pollution levels.
The provincial authorities have already implemented several measures to combat Lahore’s hazardous smog, including a mandatory mask policy citywide and a temporary suspension of all outdoor school activities. Additionally, a ban on fireworks will remain in place until January 31, 2025.
The green lockdown will strengthen these efforts by restricting pollution-heavy activities such as outdoor cooking at barbecue spots and banning smoke-emitting public transport from operating in the city’s most affected areas​
“There are eleven hotspots where AQI levels have been calculated, with Shimla Pahari currently identified as a key hotspot,” senior Punjab provincial minister Marriyum Aurangzeb told the province’s legislative assembly while listing down measures taken by the government to deal with the issue.
“Around this area, we’re mapping a green ring to enforce a green lockdown,” she added. “However, it doesn’t mean we are closing Shimla Pahari itself. Instead, we are halting construction activities within a one-kilometer radius from today and redirecting three-wheeler rickshaws away from this hotspot.”
She also noted that the government planned a “wall of trees” around the city to control carbon emissions and improve the air quality.
Lahore’s winter smog has become an annual crisis, with air quality deteriorating to hazardous levels each season. The city consistently ranks among the world’s worst for air pollution, leading to a significant rise in respiratory issues and hospital admissions, especially affecting children and the elderly.
Last year, the severe pollution levels prompted a surge in cases of asthma, lung infections and other respiratory problems among residents, according to media reports.
The problem prompted Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif this week to propose cross-border cooperation with Indian authorities to tackle shared pollution sources, such as crop residue burning, which exacerbates the region’s smog problem​.

KARACHI: The bidding process for Pakistan’s national airline will open on Thursday, with just one participant in the first major privatization in over a decade.
The cash-strapped country is looking to offload a 51-100 percent stake in debt-ridden Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) to raise funds and reform bleeding state-owned enterprises as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) program.
The Privatization Ministry said that the process would begin at 1:30 p.m. (0830 GMT) and bids will be opened at 6:30 p.m. in Islamabad.
The government had pre-qualified six groups in June, but only one — real estate development company Blue World City — met a Tuesday deadline to submit final documents to participate in the process.
Officials from three groups that chose not to bid told Reuters on condition of anonymity that there were concerns about the government’s ability to stand by agreements made for the flag carrier in the long term.
One executive voiced concern about policy continuity once a new government came in. The government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has relied on a coalition of disparate political parties.
The disposal of PIA is a step former governments have steered away from as it has been highly unpopular given the number of layoffs that would likely result from it.
Underpinning these concerns over policy continuity and honoring contracts was the government’s termination of power purchase contracts with five private companies earlier this month, as well as the process of re-negotiating other sovereign guaranteed pacts.
Changes in Pakistan’s decade-old agreements with private Independent Power Producer (IPP) projects, largely financed by foreign lenders, to address chronic power shortages, “raises the risk of investing as well as doing business in Pakistan, even in the presence of sovereign contracts as well as guarantees,” said Sakib Sherani, an economist who heads private firm Macro Economic Insights.
Other concerns raised by potential bidders included inconsistent government communication, unattractive terms and taxes on the sector, in addition to PIA’s legacy issues and reputation.