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The Chairman of the Pakistan People’s Party is currently under criticism after making insensitive remarks amidst the stifling smog engulfing the upper regions of Pakistan, particularly in Punjab and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), which was later shared on Instagram by the PPP, Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari shared a chart showing the air quality index (AQI) readings of Pakistan’s major cities on November 10 at 9 p.m. Peshawar topped the list with an AQI of 591, followed by Multan (573) and Lahore (479). He captioned it, “Dear Pakistan, move to Karachi.”

Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf leader Maleeka Bokhari shared an image of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz strolling in London and a screenshot of Bilawal’s post with the caption, “These two images highlight the level of two so-called leaders, both competing for the PM slot. Maryam Nawaz and Bilawal Bhutto are both symbols of nepotism and dynastic politics, receiving on-the-job training to govern 240 million people. One of them needs a Climate change Minister as her PA to carry her bag. The other one finds the state of Pakistan’s toxic air quality funny.”

Chief Minister of Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, Senior Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, and Chief Secretary Zahid Akhter Zaman are currently in London, and their absence from the country was called out by Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Kareem during a November 11 hearing on the smog situation in Lahore. He remarked, “All those responsible are outside the city.”

CM Maryam Nawaz can be seen wearing a fur coat and branded shades as she addresses the media, saying that the issue of smog cannot be fixed “overnight”. She further asserted that “we are doing what we can to control this in our capacity.”

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif also joined the ongoing discourse on smog, stating that crop burning was unreasonably blamed for air pollution, while vehicles are the biggest contributors.

Khawaja shared a chart showing that total emissions from transport were 127 gigagrams, compared to just 5.97 gigagrams from stubble burning.

Notably, the minister’s post did not mention the source of the chart or when the readings were taken. He emphasised that the chart shows the “real culprits” contributing to smog, while the public is being misled into believing that stubble burning – which has been occurring “since the time of Mohenjo Daro” – is the primary cause of the pollution.

In another post, Khawaja also endorsed an order by Lahore High Court Justice Shahid Kareem to close markets at 8 p.m., a measure that, according to him, “has yet to be implemented.”

He also pointed out that markets in Lahore remain open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., blaming traders for being “intransigent” on the issue. Additionally, he called out political leaders who were unwilling to address the problem because of “political expediency.”

Currently, Lahore (AQI 374) ranks second in the World Air Quality Index, while Delhi (AQI 547) tops the list, with a difference of  173 points between the two cities.

China is pushing Islamabad to permit its security staff to protect thousands of its citizens working in the country, sources have told Reuters.

On October 6, an explosion near Karachi Airport killed two Chinese engineers and injured 11 people, an attack that was seen as a major security breach.

The banned outfit Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) had taken responsibility for the blast. 

Recent attacks and security failures have reportedly angered China, prompting Pakistan to initiate formal negotiations for a joint security management system.

Reuters spoke to five Pakistani security and government sources with direct knowledge of the previously unreported negotiations and demands on condition of anonymity, as the talks are sensitive, and reviewed a written proposal sent by China to Pakistan.

One official stated: “They (Chinese) want to bring in their own security,” adding that Pakistan had not agreed so far.

The source and two other officials said there was a consensus on setting up a joint security management system and that Pakistan was amenable to Chinese officials sitting in on security meetings and coordination.

However, neither China nor Pakistan officially confirmed the off-record talks.

Privately, Beijing has expressed frustration. At one recent meeting, the Chinese side provided evidence that Pakistan had failed to follow security protocols agreed on twice in recent months, three officials told Reuters.

“It was a grave security breach,” admitted one of the officials investigating the bombing.

Speaking at a press conference on November 11, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar confirmed that during an intelligence-based operation, one of the masterminds of the suicide bombing, Javed alias Sameer, and his accomplice Gul Nisa, were arrested at CD Highway near Umar Goth Chowk, Karachi, while riding a bike. The two had entered Karachi via Hub.

“An investigation revealed Javed’s direct involvement in the suicide bombing, while Gul Nisa had facilitated [him],” Lanjar added.

“On Oct 6, the terrorist checked out of the hotel. He later picked up his other accomplices near Jail Chowrangi in the vehicle that would be used in the attack. They circled the airport and then returned to a park near the Marriott Hotel.”

“From there, they recorded the suicide attacker’s final video on a mobile phone and sent it to their BLA commander. At around 9:30 pm, they reached Karachi Airport. The suicide attacker and one of his accomplices remained in the vehicle while the third accomplice entered Karachi Airport,” Sindh Home Minister said.