Pakistan, June 3 -- Punjab has launched a province-wide crackdown on illegal factories operating in residential areas, demolishing a tannery and warehouse in Chiniot. The action matters because authorities say such facilities pose health and environmental risks to nearby communities. Residents living near unauthorized industrial units are expected to benefit from the operation.

The campaign was launched on the directives of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. As part of the initiative, teams from the Environmental Protection Department carried out an operation against a leather-processing facility accused of causing pollution. Authorities demolished an illegal tannery and a warehouse used for storing animal hides within a residential nei...