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ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed authorities to set a clear timeline for implementing reforms for small and medium-sized industries and accelerate work on an AI-driven platform to support women entrepreneurs, his office said.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Pakistan constitute over 90 percent of business establishments and are estimated to contribute around 40 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and roughly 25 percent of exports, while employing as much as 78 percent of the non-agricultural labor force.

Access to finance, however, remains a significant barrier in the Pakistani SME sector. According to a recent policy briefing, only 6-7 percent of private-sector credit is extended to SMEs.

Economists say growth in the SME sector is critical for expanding exports, processing agricultural goods and creating jobs in a country facing slow manufacturing expansion and limited credit access for small producers.

“Pakistan’s industrial development depends on the growth of household, small and medium-sized industries,” the prime minister said after he chaired a meeting on SMEs. “In developed countries, SMEs provide raw materials to large industries.”

Sharif also called for steps to enhance women’s participation in small and medium-sized industries.

“To encourage women’s participation in the SME sector, a Womenpreneurship Platform based on artificial intelligence is being established,” the statement from Sharif’s office said.

“This platform will provide comprehensive information to women regarding business sectors, as well as guidance on registration, tax matters, and skill awareness.”

A roadmap was also presented to integrate SMEs into the formal economy.

Meanwhile, the prime minister also directed that registration of household industries be encouraged to help them obtain business loans more easily, and instructed officials to ensure the earliest implementation of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority (SMEDA) roadmap.

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani city of Lahore ranked the second-worst country globally for air quality on Monday, with pollution hitting levels reported as 31 times the WHO’s annual PM2.5 guideline value, according to global monitoring data, as the provincial government launched anti-smog operations ahead of the Hindu festival of Diwali.

Punjab province, and its capital Lahore, face a recurring “smog season” from October to February, driven by crop-residue burning, vehicular and industrial emissions, and stagnant winter weather conditions. The hazy blanket has previously pushed the Air Quality Index (AQI) into hazardous levels of above 300 in Lahore in November 2024, forcing school and office closures and reduced construction activity. 

On Sunday, the Punjab Smog Monitoring Center forecast Lahore’s AQI between 210 and 230 and cautioned that morning and night hours would see the worst pollution, with a slight improvement expected between 1-5pm. On Monday morning, Pakistan ranked the second worst country globally for air quality, after Delhi, data from the Swiss air-quality monitoring organization, IQAir, revealed. The city had a PM2.5 concentration 31.1 times the World Health Organization annual PM2.5 guideline value.

Winds of 4–7 km/h from the east and west could carry pollution from the Indian cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana and Haryana toward cities in Pakistani Punjab including Lahore, Faisalabad, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Multan, the Punjab government advisory said.

“Every citizen’s role in preventing and reducing smog becomes a cause of major change and success,” Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb said, appealing for adherence to environmental SOPs.

The advisory urged residents to wear masks, and said children, older people and those with respiratory illness should stay indoors due to low winds and no rain keeping particles suspended.

Municipal agencies including Water and Sanitation Agency, Lahore Development Authority and district and municipal bodies were directed to conduct water sprinkling, prevent burning of garbage and crop residue and ensure construction sites and material-carrying vehicles are covered. 

Punjab has also begun targeted “anti-smog gun” operations this season after trial runs, part of a wider push that includes new enforcement rules and traffic measures to cut emissions in the provincial capital. 

The smog crisis in Lahore, similar to the situation in India’s capital Delhi, tends to worsen during cooler months due to temperature inversion trapping pollution closer to the ground.