The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Tuesday imposed a complete ban on all commercial activities every Sunday in Lahore as part of a broader effort to control worsening smog and environmental pollution in the provincial capital.
Justice Shahid Karim issued the directive while hearing a series of petitions concerning environmental degradation and air quality. The court also reaffirmed the mandatory 10pm closure time for marriage halls and other commercial establishments, stressing strict enforcement of these measures.
Lahore once again topped global pollution charts, ranked as the most polluted city in the world on Tuesday. According to Swiss air quality monitoring agency IQAir, the city recorded an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 372 at 8:30am — a level categorized as “hazardous” and posing serious health risks to residents.
During the hearing, Deputy Commissioner Lahore Musa Raza presented notifications enforcing early closures for markets and restaurants.
Justice Karim emphasized that issuing notifications was not enough and that full implementation must be ensured. The court further ordered that a director-level officer from the Environment Department be present at each hearing to brief the bench on compliance and progress.
A commission member highlighted that ongoing excavation work near Khayaban-e-Firdousi was causing daily traffic jams, to which the Water and Sanitation Agency’s (WASA) legal adviser, Irfan Akram, responded that sewerage upgrades were underway and progress reports would be presented at the next hearing.
The LHC directed WASA to submit detailed timelines for all ongoing projects and adjourned the proceedings until November 7.
Officials attribute the city’s toxic air to emissions from vehicles, factories, and cross-border crop burning. Experts warn that exposure to such high pollution levels can lead to severe respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses, underlining the urgency of the court’s intervention.
