AMRITSAR: A minister in Pakistan’s Punjab govt has blamed polluted winds from Amritsar and Chandigarh for worsening air quality in Lahore and proposed a dialogue with India to discuss measures aimed at improving air quality index (AQI).
Pakistan Punjab senior minister Marriyum Aurangzeb’s statement came during a televised press conference on Sunday, a day after Lahore’s AQI was recorded at 1,067.
In a video clip of the press conference, Aurangzeb is heard saying that the AQI of Lahore has jumped high-speed winds entered Pakistan from India.
“With the change in the wind’s direction and speed, the AQI of Lahore is now around 500,” she added.
Maryam, who holds multiple portfolios including environment protection and climate change in Pakistan Punjab’s provincial govt, also claimed that on Saturday, the AQI in the centre of Lahore was 1,067, and again with the change in wind direction it slipped to 200 and remained oscillating between 180 and 200 after 1 pm Saturday.
Quoting scientific data, she said these winds had originated from Indian cities of Amritsar, Chandigarh, Bathinda, Sri Ganganagar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar etc., and engulfed large pockets of Lahore, raising the AQI to unprecedented levels.
She said the smog phenomenon generated by winds from across the border could not be addressed without a dialogue with India. “We cannot stop or redirect the Indian air, the only solution is dialogue,” she said, adding that effective action to mitigate the issue required cooperation between the govts on both sides of the border.
Maryam said the Pakistan Punjab govt would be writing to Pakistan’s federal govt’s foreign department to take up the issue with India through the diplomatic channel and also advised farmers to not burn stubble and instead use machinery to manage stubble. She
In the recent past, Pakistan Punjab chief minister Maryam Nawaz had also stated in the media about her intent of writing to her Indian counterpart, Bhagwant Mann, to take measures for checking air pollution.
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