RAWALPINDI: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Sunday evening launched a report highlighting the necessity to enforce Article 9A of the Constitution to provide citizens with their right to clean air, safe drinking water, waste management, disaster preparedness and access to environmental justice.

The Constitution guarantees the fundamental right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment under Article 9A. Yet this vital right has remained absent from public debate, even as the country confronts a worsening climate and environmental crisis, said the HRCP in a statement.

Not only Pakistan is consistently ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, but disasters are no longer rare: flash floods, droughts, glacial lake outbursts and heatwaves are now recurring threats. Major urban centres — Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar and Faisalabad — remain among the world’s most polluted cities, while deforestation and biodiversity loss quietly worsen.

The report, ‘The promise of Article 9A — bridging constitutional rights and environmental governance’ provides a constitutional foundation for demanding clean air, safe drinking water, waste management, disaster preparedness, and access to environmental justice. It argues that this right obligates the state not only to refrain from harming the environment but also to protect and fulfill citizens’ rights through effective policies, infrastructure, and enforcement of environmental standards.

Among others, this means developing transparent monitoring and reporting systems on air and water quality, strengthening judicial and policy frameworks so that Article 9A translates into practice, recognising climate justice as inseparable from social and economic equity, and building long-term resilience by aligning sustainable development with constitutional rights.

The report said the constitutional recognition of a fundamental right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a crucial first step to tackling Pakistan’s climate vulnerability.

In the immediate future, this would command changes in law, policy, and judicial approach to ensuring the protection of this fundamental right.

The report comes up with recommendations which it said could lead to the enforcement of this constitutional right in letter and spirit.

It said the existing laws relating to environmental protection, forests, water ways, urban planning, waste management, wildlife and fisheries require an update in light of Article 9A.

Additionally, new legislation is required on an immediate basis to address overlooked facets of environmental and climatic concern.

The provincial EPAs have to be independently administered entities with no influence from other state institutions to effectively perform their functions. Local level environmental enforcement has to form the backbone of effective redressal.

At a policy level, sustainability concerns must be made the central theme of any proposed government project or state action. Any new project, proposal, or venture sought to be implemented by the concerned government must meet the requirement of providing a sustainable environment, while ensuring that nothing contained in such project, proposal, or venture infringes upon the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment.

A central coordination entity must be established to enforce this right in the federation effectively. The current Climate Change Council established under the Climate Change Act 2017 suffers from potential constitutionality issues due to the absence of environment and climate change from the federal legislative list.

Published in Dawn, September 1st, 2025