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.

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.

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heavy criticism on social media as Twitteratti zoomed-in NASA’s image shared by the minister saying that the image is outdated and was taken in November last year.