Noorulain Shaikh graduated with an LLB (Hons.) degree from the University of London. She is keen on geographical, sociopolitical, and legal aspects of world affairs. She is a published author of articles concerning international law and regional policy affairs.
The 26th Amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan passed by the Senate on Sunday, 20th October, has had the media, intellectuals, and citizens on their toes with its controversial postulates. While the discussion about the consequences of the amendment continues, one provision has gone unnoticed. Amid the many provisions of the amendment, Article 9A, i.e., the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, has also made its way to the constitution of Pakistan.
This was a much-needed provision considering Pakistan’s increasing vulnerability to climate change. Article 9A is good news for the legal fraternity, environmental activists, and the vulnerable sections of society often at the receiving end of ecological disasters in Pakistan, as it marks the beginning of environmental constitutionalism in Pakistan.
The legal framework for environmental protection comprises federal and provincial legislation that regulates and manages different ecological components such as water, forests, fishes, and protected zones. The primary law focused on creating environmental protection mechanisms is the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act (PEPA), 1997. It is a federal law, which is mirrored by the provincial legislations of Sindh, Punjab, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Gilgit Baltistan, as well as Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
The law laid the foundation of federal and provincial environmental protection agencies (sections 5 and 8), prohibits the discharge of any effluent, waste, or air pollutants above the National Environmental Quality Standards or section 6(1)(g)(i) of the PEPA 1997 (section 11), mandates Initial Impact Assessment (EIA) and Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) of projects that are likely to be adverse to the environment (section 12), prohibits the import of hazardous waste (section 13), requires the handling of hazardous waste (section 14), and regulates air and noise pollution from motor vehicles (section 15). Any action contradictory to sections 11, 12, 13, and 16 results in penalties ranging from fines to imprisonment.
The Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), 1860 also addresses certain aspects of environmental protection, such as voluntarily corrupting or fouling the water to render it unfit for the purpose it ordinarily used (section 277) and making the atmosphere noxious to the health of those living or........