In Amer Ishaq , the Petitioners challenged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KPK) Power Crushers Rules, 2020 (Rule 2(c) & Schedule-IV) as ultra vires, amid complained that stone-crushing plants in Suraj Galli (Khanpur, Haripur) were causing severe air pollution harming nearby residents. A local commission report confirmed extremely high levels of particulate matter (PM10/PM2.5), causing serious risks of asthma, cardiac disease, hypertension, and long-term ecological harm. A Power Crushers Commission formed by the Court also confirmed violations of National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS) and recommended closure of non-compliant plants, relocation to crushing zones, and upgrading NEQS. The case was treated as one of public importance under Article 184(3) due to its direct nexus with fundamental rights.
Held: The Supreme Court ordered the shutdown of stone-crushing plants in KPK for violating environmental standards and contributing to severe air pollution. The Court framed the issue within the emerging doctrine of environmental constitutionalism, linking environmental protection to constitutional rights and Islamic environmental ethics. The Court emphasized that environmental constitutionalism is now firmly part of Pakistan’s jurisprudence, rooted both in international law (UNGA recognition of right to environment, UNFCCC obligations) and Islamic environmentalism (principles of Tawhid, Khalifa, Meezan, Israaf, Adl). It noted that NEQS, last updated in 2010, were outdated, and directed federal and provincial governments to revise NEQS within three months and report compliance. The Court also highlighted that air pollution in Pakistan—among the world’s worst—constitutes a public health emergency and ecological crisis, and judicial intervention was necessary to safeguard intergenerational equity. It underscored the need to entrench environmental concerns as supreme constitutional norms, especially in light of Pakistan’s alarming air quality crisis.
Selected Passages:
“The triple-planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and widespread pollution must entrench environmental concerns as supreme constitutional norms… By acting as a method of constitutionally entrenching environmental law and protection at a more enduring or “higher” constitutional level, Environmental constitutionalism entails a transformative approach that relies on constitutions to provide for the architecture of environmental governance.
…[t]he protection of environment also emerges from the right to dignity which is inviolable and such protection is an inalienable right and perhaps more fundamental than the other rights. It is in this context that right to life and dignity when read with constitutional principles of democracy, equality, social, economic and political justice include within their ambit and commitment, the international environmental principles of sustainable development, precautionary principle, environmental impact assessment, inter and intra-generational equity and public trust doctrine
The Quran emphasizes stewardship (Khalifa), balance (Meezan), avoiding waste (Israaf), and justice (Adl)… Climate change disproportionately affects the poor and vulnerable, making it a matter of justice. The principle of Hima (protected areas) demonstrates Islam’s recognition of community-based conservation of natural resources.
PLD 2024 SC 1134
In Asghar Leghari, a farmer petitioned the Lahore High Court by suing the national government for its failure to carry out the National Climate Change Policy of 2012 and the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-2030). The petitioner argued that the government should pursue climate mitigation or adaptation efforts, and that the government’s failure to meet its climate change adaptation targets had resulted in immediate impacts on Pakistan’s water, food, and energy security. Such impacts offended his fundamental right to life.
Held: The Lahore High Court emphasized that climate change leads to increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which in turn exacerbate air quality issues and public health concerns. The Court highlighted the need for effective implementation of the National Climate Change Policy and the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy, which aim to address various environmental challenges, including air pollution. It noted that the government’s inaction in implementing these policies directly affects the fundamental rights of citizens, particularly vulnerable populations who are disproportionately impacted by environmental degradation.
Selected Passages:
“From Environmental Justice, which was largely localized and limited to our own ecosystems and biodiversity, we have moved on to Climate Justice. Our environmental jurisprudence from Shehla Zia case to Imrana Tiwana case (referred to above) has weaved our constitutional values and fundamental rights with the international environmental principles.
Climate Justice links human rights and development to achieve a human-centered approach, safeguarding the rights of the most vulnerable people and sharing the burdens and benefits of climate change and its impacts equitably and fairly. Climate justice is informed by science, responds to science and acknowledges the need for equitable stewardship of the world’s resources.
This brings us to Water Justice, a sub-concept of Climate Justice. Water justice refers to the access of individuals to clean water. More specifically, the access of individuals to clean water for survival (drinking, fishing, etc.) and recreational purposes as a human right. Water justice demands that all communities be able to
access and manage water for beneficial uses, including drinking, waste removal, cultural and spiritual practices, reliance on the wildlife it sustains, and enjoyment for recreational purposes. Right to life and Right to human dignity under articles 9 and 14 of the Constitution protect and realise human rights in general, and the human right to water and sanitation in particular. In adjudicating water and waterrelated cases, we have to be mindful of the essential and inseparable connection of water with the environment, land and other ecosystems.”
PLD 2018 Lahore 364