Pak Blames Pollutants From Indian Punjab For Lahore Fog

Pakistan has blamed India of contributing massive amount of toxic fog rolling into Pakistani Punjab from Indian Punjab.

13 people were killed and several others were injured in Eastern Pakistan’s traffic pile-up Thursday due to smog. The persistent spell of the toxic smog that looms over Lahore and other parts of Punjab is not essentially a by-product of pollution produced within Pakistani boundaries but is largely contributed by a perpetual rival – India, Daily Pakistan reported quoting a National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)forecast.

The smog was thought to be an offshoot of vehicular and industrial emissions in Pakistan has its origins in Indian soil, a fact that many experts had already speculated, the news daily reported.

The report says that the pollutants are from staggering amount — 32 million tons (30 billion kgs) of leftover straw — being burnt by Indian farmers, which is an age-old practice.

Extravagant fireworks in Diwali celebrations across the border have also been cited as one of the major reasons for the striking amount of pollutants in the air at the outset of winter this year.

However, images published by NASA suggest that burning of crops in the neighbouring states of Punjab and Haryana could be the biggest reason behind the air pollution in the region.