Af-Pak 2014: Waste of the Environment

Nov 3, 2014 | Wazhma Fazli, Ghotei Safi and Abdur Razzaq 
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Chronic air pollution, filthy water and mountains of garbage in cities are creating a pandemic of respiratory and water-borne diseases both sides of the Durand Line. Authorities say they are planting trees, strengthening regulation and building new incinerators to tackle increased pollution caused by rapid urban growth, but the simple truth is waste management services cannot keep up with the amount of public and toxic waste produced.

On a street once buzzing with shoppers and a bustling bazaar, filthy sewers soak the edges of an overflowing garbage dump. A drug addict is picking through the waste for needles while streetchildren fish out any plastic or tin they can sell to recyclers. A family with bags of rubbish adds their waste to the pile and the rotten smell wafts through the air and down Ashraf Road in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar.