THE quality of air a society tolerates says much about the value it places on human life.

Breathing has become an act of endurance in the cities of Pakistan. Each year, a thick haze descends, stinging eyes, burning lungs and quietly shortening lives, while daily routines carry on as if this were normal. Smog is no longer an abstract environmental concern or a seasonal inconvenience but a visible measure of how policy failure translates into physical harm. When the air itself turns toxic, it forces an uncomfortable reckoning as what kind of development poisons the people it claims to serve?

The government of Punjab recent decision to restrict future official vehicle purchases to electric and hybrid models represents a meaningful policy shift. On its own, the move will not deliver dramatic improvements in air quality. Government fleets are limited and their replacement is necessarily slow. Yet in public policy, direction often matters as much as scale. By committing itself to electric mobility as part of its smog mitigation strategy, Punjab is signalling a clear departure from a transport system long dominated by petrol and diesel.

This policy direction is reinforced by a complementary regulatory measure that ties approvals for new petrol pumps to the installation of EV charging stations. In Pakistan, where range anxiety remains the most significant barrier to electric vehicle adoption, charging infrastructure........

© Pakistan Observer