By Sardar Khan Niazi

Each winter, as Punjab disappears under a blanket of toxic grey, we repeat the same ritual: schools close, face masks return. Smog is no longer an environmental problem; it is a governance problem. And as long as we continue treating it like an unavoidable seasonal event like rain or fog Pakistan will keep gasping for breath. Let us be honest. Smog in Pakistan is not an act of nature. It is the cumulative result of decisions we did not make: failing to regulate industry, delaying public transport reforms, ignoring crop-burning alternatives, refusing to inspect vehicles, and building cities that privilege cars over people. Every year, Air Quality Index shoots past levels considered hazardous, and every year we act surprised. Meanwhile, our neighbours facing similar agricultural patterns and population pressures manage to keep air quality at levels that, while imperfect, do not leave millions choking. Too often, the public is told that smog is caused by cross-border pollution. Certainly, transboundary winds play a role. But we should not hide behind this narrative. The smoke from brick kilns, unregulated steel furnaces, diesel buses, and garbage fires is local. The vehicular emissions that have doubled over the last decade are local. The lack of monitoring is local. The absence of enforcement is local. This is our mess and we need to clean it up. Pakistan does not suffer from a shortage of policies or commissions. We have clean air regulations, action plans, environmental tribunals, and fine-structures. None of these matters when industries can pay their way around inspections and when enforcement teams are under-funded, under-trained, and at times under pressure. Clean air cannot compete with the optics of mega-projects. But children with stinging eyes and adults coughing through the night are paying for this imbalance. Effective smog control is not rocket science. Countries worldwide have reversed deadly air pollution with a combination of three ingredients: monitoring, enforcement, and alternatives. Pakistan can do the same if it chooses. Install and publicise real-time air monitoring across all major cities, not just Lahore. What we don’t measure, we can’t fix. Enforce industrial compliance through audit-proof digital monitoring systems. Close violators permanently if repeat offenders. Accelerate the shift to cleaner transport electric buses, better public transit, and stricter vehicle inspections. Subsidise alternatives to crop burning and enforce bans where incentives fail. Ban garbage burning completely, with fines that actually deter. Rethink urban planning: more trees, fewer concrete corridors that trap pollution. None of these require futuristic technology. They require leadership. Smog is a public health emergency masquerading as seasonal discomfort. It damages lungs, hearts, brains even the unborn. It hurts the poor the most. And it costs Pakistan billions in lost productivity. Yet every year, we behave as though this was unpredictable an unfortunate accident rather than the predictable consequence of ignoring environmental governance for decades. Pakistan does not need another task force. It needs resolve. Because clean air is not a privilege; it is a right. And until our policymakers treat it as such, the smog will keep returning and so will our silence.