BAHAWALPUR: The Lahore High Court’s Bahawalpur Bench on Friday granted stay order on the Punjab government’s directive to close down the kilns till Dec 31.

The stay order was issued till Nov 27 by Justice Abadur Rehman of the LHC’s Bahawalpur Bench on the petition of owners of kilns. The judge also invited comments and report from the Environment Protection Department on the next hearing.

Law officer Saeed Ahmad Ramay confirmed to Dawn that the bench had suspended the government’s order to shut down the kilns. He said five petitioners had filed the writ petition.

Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC-HQs) Dr Saifullah Bhatti said officials of the labour department had informed him that the owners of nine kilns had challenged the government orders in the LHC.

Meanwhile, a number of kiln workers demonstrated in Uch Sharif about 70 kilometres from here against the Punjab government’s decision to ban kilns to offset the threat of smog. They said they had no other source of livelihood and their children were starving, appealing to the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief minister to lift the ban.

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2018