PTI lambasts govt over study revealing high lead exposure in young children

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has criticised the federal government after a joint study by the Ministry of National Health Services and Unicef found that four in 10 children aged 12 to 36 months in high-risk areas of seven major cities had dangerous levels of lead in their blood.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the PTI Central Media Department, the party’s central information secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram called the findings a national disgrace and said they reflected a failure to safeguard children.

Akram urged the government to take immediate steps, including strict implementation of environmental and health rules, countrywide testing and treatment programmes, and accountability for those responsible for the exposure.

Referring to the findings highlighted in the statement, he said children in Haripur and Hattar were facing an 88 per cent contamination rate, while children in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad were also at risk of serious harm. “While children in Haripur and Hattar are suffering from an alarming 88 per cent contamination rate, millions more across Karachi, Lahore, Pesha­war, Quetta, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad face irreversible harm, yet those in power continue to offer nothing but empty words and hollow assurances,” he said, adding that lead poisoning was harming very young children and listed its effects as irreversible brain damage, permanently reduced IQ, weakened immunity, stunted growth, anaemia and lifelong health consequences.

“There is no safe level of lead exposure for children, yet the government has allowed industrial emissions, unregulated battery recycling, lead-based paints, and contaminated spices and cosmetics to poison an entire generation. Global estimates suggest the actual number of affected children could be as high as eight in ten — one of the highest rates in the world — resulting in economic losses equivalent to 6-8 per cent of the country’s GDP,” he further added.

According to the PTI statement, Mr Akram said the issue was not accidental but the result of negligence. He also criticised the government’s stated commitment to improving surveillance and enforcement, saying regulatory gaps, weak monitoring and a lack of public awareness had continued for years.

“This is not an accident. This is criminal negligence. The same government that claims to be ‘committed to strengthening surveillance and enforcement’ has allowed regulatory gaps, poor monitoring, and zero public awareness to persist for years,” Akram concluded.

Party response to health study

The PTI statement was issued after the release of the joint Ministry of National Health Services and Unicef study cited by the party. The study’s findings, as referenced in the statement, focused on children between 12 and 36 months living in high-risk areas of seven major cities.

PTI used the findings to press for stronger enforcement and a broader public health response, including testing, treatment and accountability measures. The party’s criticism centred on what it described as failures in regulation, monitoring and public awareness related to lead exposure sources.

The statement specifically mentioned industrial emissions, unregulated battery recycling, lead-based paints, and contaminated spices and cosmetics among the sources of exposure cited by Mr Akram.

Published in Dawn on May 4, 2026, PTI’s remarks came in response to the study’s findings on lead levels among toddlers in high-risk urban areas.