Cross-border smogism

Thanks to its ISI, Pakistan’s smoking can be made injurious to India’s health

Islamabad has yet to address New Delhi’s concerns about cross-border terrorism emanating from its domain. But the chief minister of Pakistan’s Punjab, Maryam Nawaz, has proposed what she calls ‘smog diplomacy’ between the two countries as a means of building a bridge of cooperation and mutually beneficial coexistence.

With Lahore having emerged as the world’s most polluted city – a ranking keenly contested by Delhi-NCR – the Pakistani minister has been quoted as saying, with reference to the farm stubble burning which is a major source of pollution, “The winds don’t know there is a border in the middle. Until both Punjabs come together we won’t be able to tackle the issue of smog.” 

Smog diplomacy could be seen as a new twist to the people-to-people dialogue or twin-track diplomacy. 

At the Supreme Court’s directive, New Delhi has formulated a system of fines for farms which resort to stubble burning, with penalties ranging between ₹5,000 and ₹30,000, depending on the size of the holding. 

It remains to be seen if Islamabad adopts similar measures to further smog détente between the adversarial neighbours. But Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), known for its ingenuity in sponsoring cross-border terrorism against India, might add cross-border smogism to the bag of its literally dirty tricks department. 

Flipping the Indian imposition of fines for stubble burning, the agency might offer inducements for such combustion, the smoke of which, with the aid of large extrusion fans, could be blown across the border to get into the eyes – or better still the lungs – of India’s body politic as well as its body anatomical.

From exporting cross-border terrorism Islamabad could export cross-border smogism, a charge difficult if not impossible to prove, in that Pakistani smog would be indistinguishable from Indian smog.

Indeed, ISI could go the whole hog, or the whole stalk, and encourage not just stubble burning but the burning of whole sheaves of grain, supplied courtesy its dragon-fire-breathing buddy, China. 

And ISI could change its name to Intensely Smogify India.