PUBLIC TRANSPORT: With over six million registered vehicles, Lahore’s road infrastructure is on the verge of collapse. A prime example is the Canal Road expansion. Despite widening lanes and adding underpasses, the road remains a virtual parking lot during peak hours. This proves that induced demand is real: more lanes simply invite more vehicles. Meanwhile, the Orange Line Metro Train remains underutilised by the car-owning class due to poor, last-mile connectivity. We do not need more signal-free corridors. We need strict lane enforcement and a congestion tax for high-density commercial zones, like Gulberg. The solution is an efficient public transport system, not wider roads.

Muratab Ali
Lahore

GAS PRESSURE: With the dip in winter temperatures, residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, particularly in Satellite Town and its surrounding blocks, have been struggling with nearly non-existent gas supply during peak hours. It is impossible for families to cook their morning and evening meals, and it leaves houses dangerously cold. This situation forces poor and middle-class citizens to buy expensive LPG cylinders, or use electric appliances, adding a major financial burden that they cannot sustain. The Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) authorities should investigate the issue. Urgent steps must be taken to ensure a fair and adequate supply of gas pressure to all domestic consumers.

Zoya Khattak
Rawalpindi

PROTOCOL: Every time a VIP or political leader travels, the roads are blocked for hours. People get stuck in traffic, and reach work or home very late. The public should not suffer like this. Sometimes it becomes a matter of life and death. How can people respect such a system that does not care about its own citizens? Respect should come from good work and care for the people, not from sirens, convoys and roadblocks. The government should end these unnecessary and oppressive protocols.

Ahad Jasra
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, January 20th, 2026