Vehicles, Policy, and the quest for cleaner air

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 recent Punjab government 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.

Without clear purpose and political will, electric vehicles risk remaining symbolic gestures, leaving millions exposed to preventable pollution. Smog does not respect provincial borders, and neither should solutions. Clean air is not a luxury but a basic human right. Pakistan’s move toward electric vehicles is a start, but without bold and sustained action, it risks remaining symbolic rather than transformative.

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 is not a peripheral issue but the backbone of any meaningful transition. Expanding it through licensing requirements reflects a pragmatic understanding that market forces alone are unlikely to deliver timely results, particularly in an environment where early investment carries high risk and limited immediate returns.

Together these measures reflect an emerging recognition of where the real pollution burden lies. Although crop burning dominates public debate on smog, especially during the winter months, transport emissions are a more permanent and deeply embedded source of urban air pollution. In major cities of Pakistan, studies estimate that vehicles account for around 40 percent of total air pollution. This burden is driven by a toxic mix of low-quality fuels, aging and poorly maintained engines, and chronic traffic congestion that pushes emissions higher with every kilometre travelled. Unlike seasonal agricultural practices, vehicular pollution builds up day after day, becoming an accepted yet damaging feature of urban life.

While Lahore often captures the headlines, Pakistan’s air pollution problem is far from confined to one province. Karachi, the country’s largest city and economic hub, struggles with dangerously poor air quality throughout the year. A combination of transport emissions, industrial activity, and widespread use of low-quality fuels keeps particulate matter levels several times above World Health Organization safety limits. According to the Sindh Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), petrol and diesel-powered vehicles are responsible for as much as 70-75 percent of air pollution in urban Karachi. At the lower end of estimates, a 2025 report analysing air quality monitoring data found that transport accounted for around 33 percent of PM2.5 emissions, a figure worsened by chronic traffic congestion and a sprawling, poorly regulated fleet of buses, trucks and motorcycles.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa tells a similar story. A report by Peshawar Clean Air Alliance (PCAA), combining sectoral inventory with satellite data, found that the transport sector accounts for 58.46 percent of the city’s air pollution, making vehicles the largest single source. Other contributors include dust and re-suspended dust (17.67 percent), the domestic sector (11.66 percent), industry (6.58 percent), open waste burning (4.10 percent), and the commercial sector (1.49 percent). The dramatic rise in the number of vehicles, many of them older models lacking modern emission controls, has substantially worsened Peshawar’s air quality crisis.

Misconceptions that smog is primarily a Punjab problem have dangerously delayed urgent interventions across Pakistan, leaving millions exposed to preventable respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses. While Punjab has taken some creditable steps, including the introduction of electric buses in major cities and the distribution of e-bikes particularly to female students, these initiatives only hint at what sustained policy action could achieve. By combining climate goals with social inclusion, these programmes help normalise electric mobility while making it accessible and visible to the public, demonstrating that state-led interventions can shape consumer behaviour when consistent and credible actions.

Across Pakistan, enforcement of laws against smoke-emitting and polluting vehicles remains weak, with inspections inconsistent and short-lived, allowing the dirtiest vehicles to operate unchecked. This sends a contradictory message that authorities promote electric mobility while tolerating major polluters, undermining public confidence and the effectiveness of cleaner alternatives.

A strong federal framework is urgently needed to set consistent national standards, so that when Punjab leads with progressive policies, other provinces can follow in a coordinated effort. Global experience shows that pairing incentives for electric and low-emission vehicles with strict measures such as low-emission zones, congestion pricing, rigorous inspections, and robust fuel standards yields decisive, lasting improvements in air quality.

For Pakistan, a dual approach is critical. Expanding electric mobility through infrastructure, subsidies, and local manufacturing must go hand in hand with strict enforcement against high-emission vehicles. Vehicle inspections should be digitised to curb corruption, fuel standards enforced nationwide, and public transport treated as an essential urban service.

Without clear purpose and political will, electric vehicles risk remaining symbolic gestures, leaving millions exposed to preventable pollution. Smog does not respect provincial borders, and neither should solutions. Clean air is not a luxury but a basic human right. Pakistan’s move toward electric vehicles is a start, but without bold and sustained action, it risks remaining symbolic rather than transformative.