ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani high court on Monday ordered authorities in Punjab to close schools and colleges on Saturdays and implement a two-day work-from-home policy to curb high levels of smog in the province, local media widely reported.
The caretaker government in Punjab imposed a “smog emergency” on Nov. 1 after the Lahore High Court (LHC) ordered authorities to take measures to curb high levels of pollution in the province, especially Lahore. The city, Pakistan’s second-largest by population, suffers from high levels of air pollution and ranks regularly at the top of IQAir AirVisual’s live pollution rankings of major global cities.
The smog season peaks between October and February every year due to the common practice of burning 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, especially Lahore.
While hearing a case related to the smog situation in Punjab, LHC’s Justice Shahid Karim held the provincial government responsible for pollution in the province.
“All schools and colleges will remain closed on Saturdays … Work-from-home policy should be followed twice a week,” Pakistani news website Dawn.com quoted Justice Karim as saying.
The judge ordered the district commissioners of Jhang, Hafizabad, Khanewal, Nankana Sahib, Bahawalnagar and Sheikhupura cities in Punjab to be replaced immediately, adding that videos of crop residue burning were upsetting to watch.
“Chief Secretary Punjab should issue notification to transfer these officers,” the judge said, according to Dawn.com. He also advised the government to provide electric motorcycles for their local staff to reduce emissions from vehicles which contribute to pollution.
Not only does smog disrupt life in Punjab, it also causes serious health problems and accidents in Lahore and other areas of the province, where people complain of difficulty in breathing and having sore eyes. Authorities often restrict road travel via motorways due to near-zero visibility as smog prevails.
Pakistani court orders authorities to close schools on Saturdays in smog-hit Punjab
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Pakistani court orders authorities to close schools on Saturdays in smog-hit Punjab
- Lahore High Court judge directs government to implement work-from-home policy for two days a week
- Smog in many cities of Punjab, particularly Lahore, causes serious health problems and accidents
Pakistan PM arrives in Riyadh to attend Arab-Islamic summit on Gaza, Middle East situation
- Saudi Arabia is hosting the extraordinary summit to discuss Israeli military actions in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East
- Muslim countries have called on Israel to stop its military campaigns that have raised fears of a wider conflict in the region
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday arrived in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to attend an Arab-Islamic summit on the situation in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East, Sharif’s office said on Sunday, amid ongoing Israeli military campaigns in the region.
Saudi Arabia will host the extraordinary Arab–Islamic summit between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Monday to address Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
Upon arrival at the airport, Prince Mohammed bin Abdurrahman bin Abdulaziz, deputy governor of the Riyadh region, and Pakistani diplomatic officials in Saudi Arabia received the prime minister, according to Sharif’s office.
“Landed in Riyadh where I will join the leaders of the Muslim Ummah at the Joint Arab Islamic Summit being convened to discuss the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza and speak with one voice for the rights of the Palestinian people and reaffirm our collective call for regional peace,” Sharif said on X.
Sharif’s office earlier said the prime minister was also expected to meet with world leaders on the sidelines of the summit.
Since Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 43,000 people and injured thousands more. Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Iran and Syria have also heightened fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
Muslim countries have called on Israel to announce an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East.
Monday’s summit in Riyadh will be a follow-up to the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit held in November 2023 in Riyadh, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry. PM Sharif will reiterate Pakistan’s full support to the Palestinian cause in his address with the gathering.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, attended a meeting of the OIC’s Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) in Riyadh, wherein he called on the world to hold Israel accountable for its “war crimes” in Gaza.
“[Dar] expressed alarm at Israeli adventurism in the Middle East that is endangering peace and security in the region,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement. “[He] called on the international community to bring an end to Gaza genocide.”
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
The South Asian country has also dispatched more than 1,300 tons of relief goods for Gaza and Lebanon, besides establishing the ‘Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon’ that aims to collect public donations for the war-affected people.
Pakistani forces kill four militants in restive northwest — military
- The militants were killed in two separate incidents near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan
- Pakistan blames surge in militancy on militants operating out of Afghanistan, Kabul denies it
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces on Sunday killed four militants in two separate encounters in the country’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Pakistani military said.
Two militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation in Spinwam area of the North Waziristan district, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the Pakistani military’s media wing.
In another incident in the same area, security forces intercepted a group of militants infiltrating the country’s border with Afghanistan. An ensuing exchange of fire killed two militants and injured two others.
“Sanitization operations are being conducted to eliminate any other Kharji [militant] found in the area,” the ISPR said in a statement. “Security Forces of Pakistan are determined and remain committed to secure its borders and eliminate the menace of terrorism from the country.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militant groups that targeted security forces convoys and check posts, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials in recent months.
Earlier this week, four Pakistani soldiers and five militants were killed in a gunbattle in South Waziristan’s Karama area, according to the Pakistani military.
Pakistan has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering and supporting militant groups, urging the Taliban administration in Kabul to prevent its territory from being used by armed factions to launch cross-border attacks.
Afghan officials, however, deny involvement, insisting Pakistan’s security issues are an internal matter of Islamabad.
India declines to travel to Pakistan for Champions Trophy, ICC says
- Pakistan is scheduled to host the Champions Trophy cricket tournament from February 19 till March 9
- Pakistan Cricket Board has forwarded the ICC’s email to the government of Pakistan for further advice
ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council informed Pakistan that India has declined to play any Champions Trophy games in the country next year, a Pakistan Cricket Board spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.
“We have received an email from the ICC in which they have said that India will not be coming to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy,” the PCB spokesperson said.
Pakistan is scheduled to host the Champions Trophy tournament Feb. 19-March 9.
The PCB has forwarded the ICC’s email to the government of Pakistan for further advice.
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said last Friday that he was not prepared to accept a shared hosting model and added that “no discussion” of any such proposal has taken place.
Pakistan hosted last year’s Asia Cup but all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka under a hybrid hosting model for the tournament. Several months later Pakistan traveled to India for the 50-over World Cup.
Political tensions between the countries have led to the India team avoiding travel to Pakistan since 2008 and the two have tended to only compete together in multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups. Pakistan also traveled to India in 2012 for a bilateral ODI series.
The PCB has spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi that are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi said that he hoped all three stadiums will be ready in the next two months.
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament though the schedule is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
Iran says three militants killed in province bordering Pakistan
- Sistan-Baluchistan is one of most impoverished provinces in the Islamic republic
- It has for years faced unrest involving drug-smuggling gangs and Baloch militants
TEHRAN: Iranian security forces on Sunday killed at least three people during clashes with militants in the country’s restive southeast, state media reported, following a deadly attack on police last month.
“Three terrorists of the enemy were killed and nine others were arrested” during operations in Sistan-Baluchistan province, the official IRNA news agency said.
Some 15 militants have been reported killed since an October 26 attack claimed by Jaish Al-Adl, a Baloch Sunni militant organization that operates mainly in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan province.
That attack left 10 police officers dead in the province.
Sistan-Baluchistan, which borders both Afghanistan and Pakistan, is one of the most impoverished provinces in the Islamic republic.
It has for years faced unrest involving drug-smuggling gangs, militants from the Baloch minority and extremists.
Formed in 2012 by Baloch separatists, Jaish Al-Adl is designated a “terrorist organization” by both Iran and the United States.
Pakistan deputy PM calls for accountability of Israel over ‘war crimes’ in Gaza
- Ishaq Dar said this while attending the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s Council of Foreign Ministers meeting in Riyadh
- The development came a day before Arab–Islamic summit to address Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza, Lebanon
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, on Sunday said Israel must be held accountable for its “war crimes” in Gaza, calling for an end to the “genocide” in the Palestinian territory.
Dar said this while attending the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) meeting in Riyadh to discuss Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The development came a day before an extraordinary Arab–Islamic summit between the Arab League and the OIC on Nov. 11 to address Israel’s bombardment and ground offensives in Gaza and Lebanon.
Speaking at the OIC CFM meeting, Dar condemned Israel’s “war crimes and crimes against humanity” in Palestine and demanded the world hold Israel accountable for them.
“[Dar] expressed alarm at Israeli adventurism in the Middle East that is endangering peace and security in the region,” the Pakistani foreign ministry said in a statement.
“[He] called on the international community to bring an end to Gaza genocide.”
Since Oct 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas, Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed over 43,000 people and injured thousands more. Israeli strikes on Lebanon, Iran and Syria have also heightened fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
The South Asian country has so far dispatched more than 1,300 tons of relief goods for Gaza and Lebanon, besides establishing the ‘Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for Gaza and Lebanon’ that aims to collect public donations for the war-affected people.
During his address, Dar also commended the OIC and the Arab League for their unwavering dedication to the Palestinian cause.
The Nov. 11 summit in Riyadh will be a follow-up to the Joint Arab-Islamic Extraordinary Summit held in November 2023 in Riyadh, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
The summit will be attended by PM Shehbaz Sharif who will reiterate Pakistan’s full support to the Palestinian cause.
