AMER ISHAQ vs PROVINCE OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA Ss — 2024 PLD 1134 SUPREME-COURT

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AMER ISHAQ VS PROVINCE OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA Ss. 7 & 19---Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Power Crushers (Installation, Operation and Regulations) Rules, 2020,R. 2(c) & Schedule-IV---Constitution of Pakistan, Art. 184 (3)------Environmental crisis---Question of public importance---Rule 2 of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Power Crushers (Installation, Operation and Regulations) Rules, 2020, vires of---Petitioners were aggrieved of air pollution caused by crushing of stones by power crushers operating in violation of National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS)---Provincial Government supported Report of Power Crushers Commission and also urged the Court to shut down such plants unless they complied with NEQS---Validity---Supreme Court directed Environmental Protection Agency, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (EPA), in order to protect human life and health of residents of the area who had been subjected to plants in question for a number of years, to shut down and seal operations of stone crushing plants in question immediately---Respondent owners of plants in question could be allowed to re-operationalize their plants provided they made an appropriate application to Supreme Court satisfying the Court that they complied with the requirements of NEQS---Supreme Court after verifying such fact through a technical expert might allow the same---Supreme Court directed local police to render full assistance to EPA to carry out order of Supreme Court in shutting down stone crushing plants immediately---NEQS were passed in the year 1993 and were last updated in the year 2010---Federal and Provincial Governments made no efforts to update the standards of NEQS---By limiting both the quality and quantity of anthropogenic pollutants in environment, NEQS served as crucial frameworks which facilitated transition towards a sustainable future---Such standards did not only ensure preservation of ecosystems and protection of public health through preventive measures but also played a significant role in fostering climate resilient development mechanisms by encouraging sustainable production processes in industries---Supreme Court directed Federal Government as well as Provincial Governments to update NEQS within a period of three months and submit their updated/revised NEQS before the Supreme Court---Matter was adjourned accordingly.

AMER ISHAQ vs PROVINCE OF KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA Ss — 2024 PLD 1134 SUPREME-COURT

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