Punjab's secret terrorism-trial law draws alarm as Lahore tackles water crisis and littering
The Punjab Assembly in Lahore passed the Anti-Terrorism Amendment Bill 2026, allowing terror trials with anonymous judges, prosecutors, and witnesses — a move legal observers call a threat to due process. The same week, Lahore pressed ahead on two pressing civic fronts: a digital penalty system to curb street littering and a Rs 31 billion project to shift the city's water supply away from rapidly depleting groundwater.
Punjab's secret terrorism-trial law
Punjab's Provincial Assembly, located in Lahore, passed the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2026 on August 31, creating one of the most expansive judicial-secrecy regimes the province has seen. Under the legislation, a single unnamed official holds the authority to order that a terrorism case be tried with fully anonymous participants: the judge, the prosecutor, and every witness may conceal their identities from the accused and from the public throughout proceedings. A person charged under anti-terrorism law could therefore be convicted without ever learning who presided over the case, who prosecuted it, or who gave evidence against them — and crucially, no time limit caps how long such a trial may run. Critics, including lawyers and rights observers, have called the law deeply controversial, arguing that it strips defendants of basic due-process protections. Supporters contend the measures are necessary to protect participants in sensitive terrorism cases from retaliation. The bill's passage adds to a series of security-focused legal reforms in Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, and drew international coverage from Al Jazeera, which described the legislation as allowing terrorism trials to proceed in near-total secrecy with no meaningful safeguard on scope or duration. The Provincial Assembly building in Lahore was the site of the August 31 vote. [1]
🤝 Lahore launches e-challan fines to fight littering
Lahore took a new step in its Suthra Punjab (Clean Punjab) campaign on September 1 when authorities formally launched an e-challan digital penalty system targeting littering and illegal waste disposal across the city. An awareness event held at Liberty Chowk was attended by Deputy Commissioner Lahore Captain (Retired) Ali Ejaz and CEO Suthra Punjab Lahore Sheryar Arif Khan, who announced that warning notices to violators would begin immediately. Anti-littering squad teams have been deployed to patrol roads, markets, and commercial areas, with first-time offenders receiving educational warnings rather than immediate fines. The penalties, structured under the Punjab Local Government Act 2025 and the Suthra Punjab Authority Act 2026, follow a tiered scale: Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 for littering in public spaces; Rs 1,000 to Rs 50,000 for failing to keep the area outside a house, shop, or factory clean; and Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 for using prohibited plastic bags at shops and malls. More serious violations carry far heavier consequences — burning waste can result in fines of Rs 100,000 to Rs 500,000 and up to two years of imprisonment. Khan stated that the squad's central goal is to make Lahore a genuinely waste-free city through a combination of enforcement action and sustained public education on proper waste disposal. [4]
🏢 Rs31bn plan to shift Lahore from groundwater to canal water
Lahore faces a mounting water-supply challenge as its groundwater table continues to fall under the strain of excessive tube-well extraction, and the Punjab government has announced a Rs 31 billion project intended to address the problem at its root. The city's Water and Sanitation Agency currently operates 594 deep tube wells across Lahore, together supplying around 329 million gallons of water per day to residents and businesses. The proposed project would supplement and gradually reduce dependence on that groundwater by drawing and treating 54 million gallons per day from the BRB Canal and routing it into the existing distribution network. The Central Development Working Party has already approved the project's PC-I document, which is now set to go before the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council for final funding approval. Reported by INP-WealthPk on September 2, 2026, the initiative is described as a structural response to a long-running threat: unchecked tube-well use has steadily pushed groundwater levels downward in one of Pakistan's largest and most densely settled urban areas. If cleared and executed, the surface-water scheme would mark a significant shift in how Lahore manages the resource that millions of its residents depend on daily, and could serve as a model for similar interventions elsewhere in Punjab. [8]
🎓 Punjab Police internship completes 14th batch in Lahore
The Punjab Police wrapped up the 14th batch of its internship programme at the Central Police Office in Lahore on September 3, 2026, with Inspector General of Police Punjab Abdul Kareem presiding over the closing ceremony and distributing certificates to the 65 students who successfully completed the five-week placement. Senior police officers joined the IG at the event, which marked the conclusion of a structured period in which participants worked alongside serving officers at various units within the CPO and affiliated departments. Addressing the graduates, Abdul Kareem highlighted the importance of practical exposure, noting that hands-on experience in a working police environment provides young people with an understanding of law-enforcement operations that formal classroom instruction alone cannot replicate. He encouraged the interns to carry the lessons of the programme into their professional lives, whether their paths lead into public service, law, or other fields. The Punjab Police Internship Programme has run multiple rounds, each attracting university students from across the province seeking first-hand insight into how the institution functions. The 65 students in the 14th batch represent continued strong demand for the scheme, which the Punjab Police frames as part of a broader effort to build community trust and institutional transparency through open engagement with the next generation. [3]
🗳️ Punjab reviews ADP sports schemes with Sports City in focus
The Punjab Sports Department convened a review meeting at the National Hockey Stadium in Lahore, chaired by Minister for Sports Malik Faisal Ayub Khokhar, to assess the progress of ongoing sports infrastructure projects and examine newly proposed schemes under the Annual Development Programme for 2026-27. Secretary Sports Punjab Fazal-ur-Rehman, Director General Sports Punjab M Tariq Qureshi, Director Administration Abid Shaukat, and Project Management Unit officers attended and delivered a detailed briefing on both active development work and schemes at the planning stage. The minister stressed that Sports City — a flagship development initiative — must be fitted with all modern facilities to meet the needs of athletes and the public at the level expected of a premier venue. The ADP review process is designed to keep projects on schedule and within budget through direct ministerial oversight and accountability reporting. Punjab has steadily expanded its sports infrastructure investment in recent years, and the 2026-27 programme continues that trajectory, covering both the renovation of existing venues and the development of new facilities across the province. The choice of the National Hockey Stadium as the meeting venue reflected the government's ongoing commitment to maintaining high-standard sports infrastructure in Lahore and beyond. [7]
Sources: [1] Al Jazeera · [4] radio.gov.pk · [8] Independent News Pakistan · [3] The News Pakistan · [7] The News Pakistan