QUETTA: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has said laws of nature are always just.
The
CJP said this while addressing conference on environmental law -
Balochistan Friday. He went on to say every being, whether living or
non-living, in this universe has been created by Almighty Allah to
follow specific laws of nature.
He held that environment in its
simplest form can be termed as a surrounding comprising of living and
non-living entities. The Holy Quran has made it clear that every
creature of this universe has two major purposes: a religious purpose
evidencing the presence of its Maker and His infinite wisdom, grace and
magnificence; and a social purpose to serve the man and other beings.
These divinely set out standards and distribution of all creatures and
elements lead to maintain a dynamic balance in the ecosystem and
environment. Human beings have been given superiority over all the
other creatures and elements of this universe by Almighty Allah on the
basis of intellect, reason, logic and ability to judge between right and
wrong. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the man to protect the nature
and not to disrupt the dynamic equilibrium set by Almighty Allah.
Destruction, misuse or abuse and over exploitation of natural resources
are all transgressions against the divine scheme. In Pakistan,
environmental legislation covers a wide range of subjects including
hazardous substances, health, forestry, landscape, water, air, soil and
land. The major legislation in this respect is the Environmental
Protection Act 1997 which replaced the environmental Protection
Ordinance of 1983.
He went on to say that having a plethora of
laws on any subject can never be a cure for the redressal of problems.
Rather it is the will to implement and enforce these laws that serve as
the best solution.
He held the Constitution of Pakistan 1973
empowers the Central and Provincial legislatures to formulate laws for
the protection of its citizens; however, there is no specific provision
therein on the protection of environment.
The law on the
environmental protection may not be perfect but it contains several
useful provisions for ending environmental degradation. Indeed, the
Judiciary has always endeavoured to redress grievances pertaining to the
environmental issues within the existing legal sphere. The Supreme
Court of Pakistan in the famous case of ‘Shehla Zia versus Wapda’ (PLD
1994 SC 693) has extended the scope of Article 9 of the Constitution to
cover certain aspects of the environmental pollution.
He
stressed that there is a need for the inclusion of environmental laws in
the syllabi and legal education of all law schools and universities at
Federal as well as Provincial level.
He underlined that the
provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have a range of mountain
areas and forests. These mountains and forests not only add to the
beauty of nature but are also sources of rain, water, weather protection
and livelihood. In Pakistan, the cutting of forest trees, burning of
tress and the installation of crusher machines often go unheeded and
unchecked by the executive authorities.
He said that there is
need for proper legislation whereby the installation of crusher machines
privately or publicly, could be checked and regulated, ensuring that
they do not pose any threat to the environment. A wide range of mountain
areas of the country have been reduced to plain lands for financial
purposes. Instead of mountains, gravel or natural habitat having springs
and brooks can be utilized as sources for sand and rockery. Online
