The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday ordered the Punjab government to launch a rigorous campaign against smoke-emitting vehicles across the province to help control worsening smog and air pollution.
Hearing petitions related to environmental pollution, Justice Shahid Karim noted that vehicles releasing thick smoke were a common sight and one of the main causes of Lahore’s poor air quality.
He directed provincial authorities to conduct a two-to-three-week-long operation to strictly implement anti-smog measures, emphasizing that vehicles traveling between Lahore and Karachi were further aggravating the pollution problem.
Officials from the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Parks and Horticultural Authority (PHA), and other departments appeared before the court. Justice Karim expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of a director-level EPA officer despite previous court directions.
Taking notice of the growing number of smoke-emitting vehicles, the court instructed the EPA to put up warning banners across Lahore, notifying drivers that such vehicles would be impounded.
The EPA informed the court that banners had already been installed in several areas, after which Justice Karim ordered the agency to deploy officers along with police personnel at inter-city bus terminals and toll plazas to ensure effective enforcement.