ISLAMABAD: Zainab Tahir struggled to catch her breath as the steep incline of the hiking trail at Islamabad’s picturesque Margalla Hills tested her endurance. Hiking can put one through physical exertion, especially when they do it on an empty stomach. 

An hour before the sun sets and the call to prayer blares out from various mosques located in Pakistan’s capital city, a group of fitness enthusiasts take to the hiking trails in Margalla Hills National Park. 

Islamabad Run With Us (IRU), which describes itself as Pakistan’s “pioneering running community,” is behind the pre-iftar hiking initiative. 

“When you engage in pre-iftar [physical] activities during Ramadan, it gives you extra energy, an extra boost,” Qasim Naz, who founded IRU in 2016, told Arab News on hiking trail number three. 

“And when someone joins in on an activity once or twice, they figure out it’s not that hard and they can sustain it comfortably.”

Naz stresses that staying active during the holy month is essential. The IRU organizes five activities a week, which include two runs and three hikes.

“Either we can maintain our weight, or if our goal is weight loss, we can achieve it by being in a calorie deficit while eating a healthy diet and exercising,” Naz explained.

Tahir, 22, meanwhile said she was committed to reaching the top of hiking trail before sunset. This was the second time she was hiking with IRU. 

She agreed with Naz that group activities are “much easier” to sustain. 

“I think it is important to go at your own pace and it’s so much easier with the group,” Tahir, a content creator, told Arab News. 

“If you go alone, it’s kind of more difficult and you are like really slow but if you go with the group you can maintain that pace and I think it’s much easier that way.”

Mahwish Ashraf, a journalist associated with a foreign diplomatic mission in Islamabad, shared how she struggled the first time she went on a pre-iftar hike with IRU. 

“The first time I was hiking, I returned from in between, I couldn’t complete it,” she admitted. “So, this is my second time hiking with the IRU, and gladly, I’m at the main point, the meeting point.”

Eraj Khan, a commercial specialist visiting from Australia to spend Ramadan with his family, said pre-iftar hikes give one “lots of energy.” 

“For fat burning, it’s a great activity,” Khan said. “Especially because the last two hours of fasting are the hardest, most people feel really hungry. But so far, I’m loving it.”

As the clock continued to tick and evening settled in, the hikers began to pick up their pace. For Tahir, reaching the top of the trail before sunset was a victory in itself. 

She had pushed past exhaustion, embraced the challenge and proved to herself that she was capable of more than she thought she could achieve.

And according to her, hiking with the group made all the difference. 

“The energy of the group keeps you going,” she said. “Even when you feel like stopping, you see everyone else moving forward, and you push through.”

ISLAMABAD: The government in Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is set to launch the country’s first-ever carbon credit project “soon” at a decades-old dumping site in Lahore, aiming to reduce pollution and mitigate climate risks, an official confirmed on Wednesday.

The Mehmood Booti dumpsite, a 42.98-acre landfill near Lahore’s Ring Road area, has been accumulating waste since 1997. Over the years, it has amassed 13 million tons of waste, leading to severe environmental hazards including toxic groundwater contamination, hazardous air pollution, and methane emissions. 

Lahore, the capital of Pakistan’s eastern province of Punjab, has repeatedly ranked among the world’s most polluted cities in international air quality indices, with smog causing severe health issues for residents every winter. 

Carbon credit projects are initiatives that reduce, remove or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases. These projects generate carbon credits, which can be sold to companies or individuals looking to offset their carbon footprint.

“RUDA [Ravi Urban Development Authority] is taking a historic step toward environmental sustainability by rehabilitating the Mehmood Booti dumpsite,” Alishba Tajwar, deputy director of communication and environment at RUDA, told Arab News.

“And is all set to launch Pakistan’s First-Ever Carbon Credit Project at the site very soon after testing as most of the work has been completed.”

The official said the rehabilitation project included initiatives such as capturing methane, leachate treatment [which treats leachate, a contaminated liquid that drains from landfills or waste sites] and transforming the site into an urban forest and solar park.

“This project not only addresses severe environmental challenges posed by the 13 million tons of waste accumulated over decades but also introduces innovative solutions to repurpose waste into hydrogen energy,” Tajwar said. 

Pakistan is among the countries most at risk from climate change, as per the Global Climate Risk Index. Extreme weather events like floods, droughts, cyclones, torrential rainstorms, and heat waves have been occurring more frequently and with greater intensity across the country in recent years. 

She said the initiative aims to reduce pollution, cut carbon emissions by one million tons over 15 years and align Pakistan with global sustainability goals.

She said methane emissions from the dumpsite will be captured and converted into usable energy, adding that the carbon credit mechanism in the rehabilitation project followed a structured process that enables monetization of emission reductions through global carbon markets.

The RUDA official said this project represented a Rs5 billion ($17.86 million) investment, making it one of Pakistan’s most ambitious environmental initiatives.

“With an expected issuance of 100,000 tons of carbon credits per year, it will generate Rs2 billion ($7.14 million) in revenue annually, reinforcing Pakistan’s climate finance strategy,” Tajwar said. 

She said captured methane will either be converted into energy or flared using advanced gas recovery technology, significantly lowering greenhouse gas emissions.

Tajwar said the project involved collecting solid waste, treating it to extract usable gases and converting those gases into hydrogen.

“This hydrogen can then be utilized for various energy needs, including electricity generation, industrial uses, and even fuel for hydrogen-powered vehicles,” she explained. 

‘POSITIVE IMPACT’

Environmental experts termed this initiative as a much-needed step to reduce pollution and address environmental challenges faced by Lahore residents.

Asif Mahmood, a Lahore-based environment expert, said this was an environmentally friendly project initially proposed by the interim government in 2023 to transform the site into a solar park.

“In 2019, dangerous methane gas clouds were observed emerging from the site, affecting not only the surrounding area but also the entire city,” he told Arab News.

Mahmood said rehabilitation work at the site had already made a noticeable difference, with one of the most evident improvements being the elimination of the foul odor that previously affected surrounding areas for several kilometers.

Asif Ali Sial, a Lahore-based environment lawyer, said the project will have a positive impact by providing relief to the city’s residents from solid waste pollution.

“A series of garbage piles at the site has been causing significant harm to residents and the environment,” he said. 

“Therefore, this project will have a positive impact on the city’s surroundings and overall environmental quality.”