On Thursday, Nov 14th, 2019 concerned residents donned masks and joined up with doctors outside of the Allama Iqbal Medical College in Lahore, where they held a press conference on the deeply worrying public health emergency resulting from toxic air pollution.

Senior medical doctor and researcher, Dr Zulfiqar Mir, began the press conference with troubling statistics from a recent study, stating that approximately 135,000 people die prematurely every year in Pakistan due to air pollution. “Most of the deaths occur in Punjab, especially in Lahore. This is a public health emergency. We want the environmental, health and climate departments to take note of this critical issue.”

According to the government’s own clean air policies, emergency measures should be taken to reduce the air and safeguard the public’s well-being. Yet too little is being done during the immediate crisis this winter, nor towards the required medium and long term measures to radically reduce the hazardous air pollution in Pakistan.

For this reason, doctors, along with scientists and environmentalists, launched a petition demanding that the government implement the existing smog and clean air policies, and go even farther to actually stop the pollution from happening to safeguard the public’s health. The petition has received widespread public support.

“Over a short period of time this petition was signed by 5000 concerned residents”, said Dr Alia Haider.

She outlined the necessary measures delineated in the petition. These include transforming the two largest polluting sectors—transport and health– by building a sustainable public transport infrastructure and getting polluting vehicles off the road, shutting down industrial units that are violating regulations, shutting down coal-fired power plants and transitioning to renewable energy production.

Pediatrician, Dr Intesar, and ENT, Dr ShahRukh, discussed the health impacts of breathing air filled with carcinogens and particulate matter that is absorbed into the body’s organs. They explained how the pollution is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and young children, as well as for elderly people and those with compromised immune systems.

They stressed the dire need for an adequate health budget and free care for the poor, both demands included in the petition. The petition also demands the strengthening of Pakistan’s public health institutions to empower medical experts and researchers so that they can develop systems that ensure adequate care for all in need.

Lawyer and mother, Nida Usman Chaudhry, explained how she is fearful of sending her son, who already has experienced respiratory problems for half of his young life, to school or anywhere out of the house during peak smog season. She said this smog is literally killing our children and makes parents feel as afraid to send their kids to school as they felt after the APS tragedy in 2014.

School student Eesa Ali Mir spoke of how the children’s bodies and brains are being ruined by the smog. “It is about our future and we will fight to save it. If we don’t do anything right now then we will run out of time.”

In addition to the children in attendance who are learning how to stand up for their rights, university students also argued that it if the government is failing it is their right to stand up and protest. Mohsin Abdali, MPhil student at Punjab University’s Department of Agricultural Sciences, said “Every other student is sick on campus. Many are forced to miss their exams and assignments due to deteriorating health. We don’t want any masks or school shutdowns from the government. We want policies that address the root causes of the problem. ”

4th year student at GCU, Salman Sikander, agreed, speaking of how the government is also cutting budgets in education as well as in health sector. But affirmed that like doctors, students are also getting organized. “This government has abandoned ordinary people and seems more interested in facilitating the powerful polluters. This is the responsibility of the government to regulate industries and make policies that improve the environment of the city.”

Medical professionals, academics, students and environmentalists will continue standing together to ensure their demands for basic dignity and safe living conditions are met.