ISLAMABAD: Pakistan was the world’s second most polluted country after Bangladesh, IQAir, a Swiss group that measures air quality levels based on the concentration of lung-damaging airborne particles known as PM2.5, said on Wednesday.
South Asia is the most polluted region in the world with Bangladesh, India and Pakistan sharing 42 of the 50 most polluted cities worldwide, IQAir said in its 2020 World Air Quality Report, with data gathered from 106 countries.
“The most polluted countries in the region have numerous cities that average US AQI measurements of “Unhealthy” (> 55.5 μg/m3) or worse,” the report said. “Bangladesh: 80% of cities; Pakistan: 67% of cities; India: 32% of cities.”
The report said key drivers of air pollution in Pakistan included urbanization, rapid economic development, and industrialization.
“Major sources of Pakistan’s air pollution include road transport emissions (both vehicle exhausts and road dust), domestic biomass burning, and industrial activity,” IQAir said. “Pakistan also experiences air pollution from agricultural burning and shares transboundary pollution from this activity with India.”
Alarmingly, the report noted that more than 20% of deaths in Pakistan were “attributable to the negative health impacts of air pollution exposure.”
IQAir also ranked Lahore as the world’s 18th most polluted city during 2020 and second most polluted megacity, after New Delhi, exposing its over 11 million residents to hazardous PM2.5 levels.
“There is no public access to data from the government network, but the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency has implemented some measures to mitigate industrial emissions and plans to implement a monitoring network,” IQAir said. “It is not yet clear whether data from the monitoring network will be made public in real-time.”
Pakistan ranked world’s second most polluted country — IQAir study
https://arab.news/6pcgz
Pakistan ranked world’s second most polluted country — IQAir study
- Bangladesh ranks first among polluted nations, India third in IQAir’s 2020 World Air Quality Report
- 20% of deaths in Pakistan “attributable to negative health impacts of air pollution exposure”
Islamabad court sentences seven individuals to life imprisonment over ‘digital terrorism’
- The convicts include Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shaheen Sahbahi, Haider Raza Mehdi, Adil Raja, Moeed Peerzada, Akbar Hussain and Sabir Shakir
- The cases against them relate to May 9, 2023 riots over ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest that saw vandalization of government, military installations
ISLAMABAD: An Islamabad anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Friday awarded two life sentences each to seven individuals, including journalists and YouTubers, over “digital terrorism,” in connection with May 9, 2023 riot cases.
The court sentenced Wajahat Saeed Khan, Shaheen Sahbahi, Haider Raza Mehdi, Adil Raja, Moeed Peerzada, Akbar Hussain and Sabir Shakir under various sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act and the Pakistan Penal Code.
The riots had erupted after former prime minister Imran Khan was briefly arrested in Islamabad on corruption charges on May 9, 2023, with his supporters attacking government buildings and military installations in several cities.
ATC judge Tahir Sipra announced the reserved verdict, following a trial in absentia of the above-mentioned individuals who were accused of “digital terrorism against the state on May 9.”
“The punishment awarded will be subject to the confirmation by Hon’ble Islamabad High Court,” the verdict read, referring to each count of punishment awarded to the convicts.
It also imposed multiple fined on the convicted journalists and YouTubers, who many see as being closed to Khan.
The prosecution presented 24 witnesses, while the court had appointed Gulfam Goraya as the counsel of the accused, most of whom happen to be outside Pakistan.
Pakistan’s anti-terrorism laws allow trials in absentia of the accused persons.
Thousands of supporters of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party were detained in the days that followed the May 2023 riots and hundreds were charged under anti-terrorism laws in a sweeping crackdown, with several cases transferred to military courts.
The government of PM Shehbaz Sharif accuses Khan’s party of staging violent protests in a bid to incite mutiny in the armed forces and to derail democracy in the country. The PTI denies inciting supporters to violence and says the government used the May 2023 protests as a pretext to victimize the party, a claim denied by the government.
The May 2023 riots took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary no-trust vote, a charge denied by the military.
Khan, who has been jailed since Aug. 2023 on a slew of charges, has led a campaign of unprecedented defiance against the country’s powerful military. He also accuses the then generals of rigging the Feb. 8, 2024 election in collusion with the election commission and his political rivals to keep him from returning to power. The military, election commission and Khan’s rivals deny the allegation.
