Zartaj Gul is under fire for calling Lahore’s smog as fake news
The minister of state for climate change Zartaj Gul has been facing public backlash since her statement for the smog crisis in Lahore blamed India for the toxic air pollution.
The minister in her tweet on Monday shared a satellite image on air pollution saying that the Air Quality Index (AQI) of India was highly affected as compared to Pakistan where a mitigated practice of mass crop burning was observed.
The minister further said that Pakistan will be taken up the issue on international forums.
November 3, NASA Satellite image showing the state of mass crop burning on the adjoining Indian side.
Check the scale of flagrant acts on Indian side, and how mitigated practice is on our end.
We're going to continue taking up this issue on international forums.#LahoreSmog pic.twitter.com/KdtdeZkyOy
— Zartaj Gul Wazir (@zartajgulwazir) November 4, 2019
Last week, the state minister in a press briefing said: “India is responsible for causing 80 percent air pollution as compared to Pakistan where only 20 percent is from our side”.
Gul, further told that 155 furnace units in Lahore and 261 in overall Punjab producing emissions has been shut by the provincial government to mitigate pollution sources.
Read More : Lahore smog is the result of burning crops’ residue in India, NASA
“Our teams are working diligently to heavily mitigate pollution sources and impact. Do not heed please the unauthenticated sources that are trying to stir uproar for their own vested interests,” the minister tweeted.
وزارت کی ٹیمیں اپنا کام کر رہی ہیں۔ سماگ کی وجوہات پر کافی حد تک قابو پایا جا چکا ہے۔
Our teams are working diligently to heavily mitigate pollution sources and impact. Do not heed please the unauthenticated sources that are trying to stir uproar for their own vested interests. pic.twitter.com/J8sNxYx4Fy
— Zartaj Gul Wazir (@zartajgulwazir) October 30, 2019
On the other hand, Gul’s claims on air pollution received heavy criticism on social media as Twitteratti zoomed-in NASA’s image shared by the minister saying that the image is outdated and was taken in November last year.
کچھ تو ہوش کریں خرگوش ۔آپ جب بھی بولتیں ہیں کچھ بلنڈر کرتی ہیں اس لئیے چپ رہا کیں۔ 2018 کی تصویر ہے ۔ pic.twitter.com/rb1MPlHj9h
— Asad (@Assadlohar) November 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/CoffeeWtBrownie/status/1191411297579089920
https://twitter.com/stribhuvan7/status/1191356663116120064
https://twitter.com/jasthana1/status/1192421213567516672
Level hay boss 😄
Jab Germany and Japan border share kar saktay hain to phir duniya main kuch bhi hosakta hay 😅— Qasim Uzair Khan ™ (@QasimUzairKhan) November 7, 2019
@bilal79 joke of the day
— Alveena Bilal. (@alvbilal) November 6, 2019
Madam plz google about global warming and climate change. Don't blame everything on India. Plant trees in lahore and surrounding areas
— S_shah (@shah1_sj) November 6, 2019
Hopefully it is a genuine mistake and not a deliberate attempt to give last year's (2018) image as a proof for things happening now !
Even if inefficient staff passed it on to you, as a Minister one is supposed to recheck such facts before unloading it on the whole world !!— Inam Khan (@inambada) November 6, 2019
