Senior Minister Punjab Maryam Aurangzeb chaired a high-level meeting on anti-smog here at Lahore during which the authorities agreed to undertake a massive crackdown against illicit industrial units being run in residential areas across the province.

As per the instructions of Chief Minister Punjab Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who directed prompt action for removal of illegal industrial set-ups in residential areas of Lahore and other parts of the province and launch of enforcement operations, the meeting was held.

Illegal factories running in residential communities are a big source of environmental damage, officials said. It was also resolved to take action against illicit fat melting facilities and to move approved urban companies progressively to specialised industrial zones.

Meanwhile, the authorities said a detailed relocation plan has been prepared and all previously issued NOC for industrial units in residential areas are to be withdrawn with immediate effect. And authorities who approve such requests will also be subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Industries involved in burning wire and plastic are considerably contributing to air pollution, along with marble carving, wood workshops and small-scale units, the meeting was told. It was discovered that fumes emitted from burning plastics may lead to respiratory ailments, lung damage and possibly cancer.

Lahore has discovered and mapped 5,206 illegal industrial units, of which 4,514 are within residential limits. These industries are categorised into five groups based on their environmental impact.

Out of them 306 units were extremely high pollution, 676 high pollution, 539 medium pollution, 2,925 low pollution and 760 very low pollution units.

Maryam Aurangzeb said industry relocation strategy has been separated into short, medium and long-term phases. Large enterprises would be allocated land in new industrial zones away from residential areas, with basic utilities like electricity, water and roads.

Industrialists would also be granted incentives such as subsidised land, easing for import of machinery and waste treatment facilities. A permanent implementation committee with officials from Environment, Local Government, Police, LDA, Industries and Revenue Departments has been constituted to oversee timeframes, reforms and grievance redressal.

The recommendations were drawn up for phased implementation following consultations with more than 50 stakeholders and 14 sessions, using foreign case studies and local experience, officials said.

– The Committee for Monitoring and Implementation of Fuel Conservation and Additional Austerity Measures on Wednesday recommended to extend the applicability of certain austerity measures till June 30, 2026 besides extending the closing time of standalone grocery and kiryana stores to 10:00 PM all days of the week.

The committee, which met under the chair of Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, evaluated numerous instances submitted by different ministries and divisions seeking exemptions from the applicability of specific austerity measures and finalised its recommendations in this regard.

It was also decided to keep the consular attestation services functional at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its liaison offices in Quetta, Karachi, Peshawar, Gujrat and Lahore on Fridays for facilitation of the public.

The committee suggested to extend the applicability term of those extra austerity measures whose expiry date had been notified as June 13, 2026 till June 30, 2026.

It also agreed to increase the closing hour of freestanding grocery and kiryana shops to 10 pm on all days of the week, including Saturdays and Sundays.

The meeting was attended by ministers for petroleum, climate change and IT & Telecom, special assistant to PM (SAPM) on finance, special assistant to deputy prime minister (SADPM), federal secretaries of cabinet, commerce, petroleum and IT & Telecom and senior officials of concerned ministries and divisions.

The benchmark index of the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) once again surpassed the 170,000-point mark, indicating that the PSX saw a robust recovery on the second trading day of the week.

A dramatic bullish trend was noticed in the stock market at the beginning of trade, with the index gaining more than 2,000 points and reaching the level of 171,006 at the same time.

It is important to recognise that the benchmark index had finished the previous trading session at 168,953 points, following a decrease of 1,525 points. This is something that should be mentioned.

The recovery is attributed by market observers to the resurgence of investor confidence as well as the optimistic trading sentiment that prevailed at the beginning of the new session.