Imported low-grade oil causes 43pc pollution.

Byline: Fawad Yousafzai

Islamabad -- A senate committee was informed here on Monday that 43 percent of pollution in Pakistan was caused by the import of low grade oil which was used by transport and energy sectors.

Senate Functional Committee on Human Rights that met under the chairmanship of Senator Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar was also told that five oil refineries in Pakistan were still in their infancy, which produced oil with high magnesium and Sulfur contents.

The Senate body, in its meeting, discussed at length the ecological and aquatic effects of oil refineries located in the country and the government's policy to overcome these issues.

Officials of Ministries of Climate Change, Petroleum, provincial environment and transport departments and representatives of oil refineries briefed the committee on the occasion.

The committee was told that according to reports, around 128,000 deaths occurred annually, directly or indirectly, due to climate change and children being weak in fighting organ diseases were the most affected ones.

In Pakistan Euro-2 standard is applied while the world has gone to Euro-6 technology, it was told.

The committee was informed that almost nine percent of country's GDP was affected by the climate change, and there was a need for a strong coordination between the Centre and...