KARACHI: Heavy fog in Pakistan’s Punjab province has disrupted flight operation from three major airports, with flights from Lahore, Sialkot and Multan facing cancelations, changes and delays, a spokesperson of the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) said on Wednesday.
During the winter season, dense fog blankets the plains of the country, particularly affecting regions in the Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. This diminishes visibility to as low as 100 meters, leading to flight delays and diversions.
Over the past week, a total of 32 flights destined for Faisalabad, Multan, Lahore and other Punjab airports had to be redirected to Islamabad International Airport due to the prevailing fog conditions.
“Severe fog ongoing in the country has affected PIA flights from Lahore, Multan and Sialkot airport,” the airline’s spokesperson, Abdullah Khan, said in a statement, adding the PIA apologized for any inconvenience caused due to these operational challenges.
“Low visibility and intensity of fog pose difficulties in flight operations,” he added. “Flights from Lahore, Multan, and Sialkot may be canceled, changed or delayed due to fog.”
Khan noted that flight operations were usually affected in these cities in winter.
“All passengers are urged to obtain information about their flights from the PIA call center before heading to the airport,” he added.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department has forecast that dense foggy conditions are expected to continue until next week in most parts of the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh provinces.
“We won’t see any relief in fog especially in the plains of the country for the next week or so,” Dr. Zaheer Babar, a Met Office official, told Arab News earlier this week.
He said light rain was expected on December 28 and 29 in the mountainous areas of the country while dry weather was expected to prevail in the plains.
“The foggy conditions may continue to affect transportation,” Babar said. “Therefore, travelers should plan their journeys beforehand to avoid any congestions and delays.”
Heavy fog in Pakistan’s Punjab disrupts flights at Lahore, Sialkot and Multan airports
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Heavy fog in Pakistan’s Punjab disrupts flights at Lahore, Sialkot and Multan airports
- Several flights were canceled last week, with Pakistan International Airlines warning of more delays
- Intense fog can reduce visibility to as little as 100 meters, impacting road travel and flight operations
Pakistan PM orders accelerated privatization of power sector to tackle losses
- Tenders to be issued for privatization of three major electricity distribution firms, PMO says
- Sharif says Pakistan to develop battery energy storage through public-private partnerships
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday directed the government to speed up privatization of state-owned power companies and improve electricity infrastructure nationwide, as authorities try to address deep-rooted losses and inefficiencies in the energy sector that have weighed on the economy and public finances.
Pakistan’s electricity system has long struggled with financial distress caused by a combination of factors including theft of power, inefficient collection of bills, high costs of generating electricity and a large burden of unpaid obligations known as “circular debt.” In the first quarter of the current financial year, government-owned distribution companies recorded losses of about Rs171 billion ($611 million) due to poor bill recovery and operational inefficiencies, official documents show. Circular debt in the broader power sector stood at around Rs1.66 trillion ($5.9 billion) in mid-2025, a sharp decline from past peaks but still a major fiscal drain.
Efforts to contain these losses have been a focus of Pakistan’s economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund, which has urged structural changes in the energy sector as part of financing conditions. Previous government initiatives have included signing a $4.5 billion financing facility with local banks to ease power sector debt and reducing retail electricity tariffs to support economic recovery.
“Electricity sector privatization and market-based competition is the sustainable solution to the country’s energy problems,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a meeting reviewing the roadmap for power sector reforms, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The meeting reviewed progress on privatization and infrastructure projects. Officials said tenders for modernizing one of Pakistan’s oldest operational hubs, Rohri Railway Station, will be issued soon and that the Ghazi Barotha to Faisalabad transmission line, designed to improve long-distance transmission of electricity, is in the initial approval stages. While not all power-sector decisions were detailed publicly, the government emphasized expanding private sector participation and completing priority projects to strengthen the electricity grid.
In another key development, the prime minister endorsed plans to begin work on a battery energy storage system with participation from private investors to help manage fluctuations in supply and demand, particularly as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind take a growing role in generation. Officials said the concept clearance for the storage system has been approved and feasibility studies are underway.
Government briefing documents also outlined steps toward shifting some electricity plants from imported coal to locally mined Thar coal, where a railway line expansion is underway to support transport of fuel, potentially lowering costs and import dependence in the long term.
State authorities also pledged to address safety by converting unmanned railway crossings to staffed ones and to strengthen food safety inspections at stations, underscoring broader infrastructure and service improvements connected to energy and transport priorities.
