Legal Principle & Question Decided

Ruling Summary: This decision was rendered by the Lahore High Court, officially reported as 2026 LHC 4972. In this matter between Haroon Farooq and Government of Punjab etc, the court adjudicated key questions of statutory construction, procedural regularity, and legal precedent under Pakistani law.

Core Holding: The honorable bench evaluated governing statutory provisions and judicial authorities to establish the rights of the parties, delivering the binding reasoning set out below.

Full Judgment Text & Judicial Ruling

COURT: Lahore High Court (Honorable Mr. Justice Shahid Karim) DECISION DATE: 12-08-2026 CASE DETAILS: Misc. Writ 227807/18* ============================================================ JUDGMENT SHEET IN THE LAHORE HIGH COURT, LAHORE JUDICIAL DEPARTMENT

Case No. W.P. No.227807/2018

Haroon Farooq Versus Government of Punjab & others J U D G M E N T

Date of Hearing. 12.08.2026

MEMBERS OF THE JWEC: Syed Kamal Ali Haider , Ms. Hina Hafeezullah Ishaq and Ch. Zulfiqar Ali, Advocates.

PETITIONERS BY: M/s. Abuzar Salman Niazi, Muhammad Azhar Siddique, M. Yasin Hatif, Syed Muhammad Ghazenfur, M. Abdullah Malik, Syed Imad Hassan, Altamush Saeed, Rana Muhammad Sikandar, Barrister Muhammad Umer Riaz, Saqib Haroon Chishti, Barrister Haris Bhatti, M. Umer ul Hassan, Syed Ali Awais Tirmizi, Aftab Raheem, Rai Muhammad Nawaz Kharal, Ejaz Ahmad Gorcha, Syed Ali Zafar, Jehanzaib Sukhera, Ashhad Ali Azhar, Mian Dawood, Mian Sardar Ali Gahlan, Zahid Nawaz Cheema, Muhammad Asghar Nadeem, Ms. Fareeha Arif, Shahjahan Haider Hashmi, Khawaja Mohsin Abbas, Rana Rehan, Barrister Ch. Abu Bakar, Umair Masood Chishti, Munir Ahmad , Mian Shabbir Asmail, Ms. Seemab Aslam, Ms.Rabia Khan, Ms. Amna Liaqat, Ms. Salma Riaz , Shahjahan, Barrister Ahmed Pervaiz, Barrister Hamza Shahid Butter, Saeed A. Sheikh, Jehangir Hassan Dogar, Muhammad Ali Butt, Muhammad Afzal, Zohaib Hassan Joiya, Ashiq Ali Rana, Asad Hayat Bhoon, Barrister Momin Malik, Mian Abdul Rehman, Arslan Anwar, U sman Sana Khan Atiq, Dilnawaz Ahmad Cheema, Malik Muhammad Zari f, Rana Muhammad Afzal Razzaq Khan, Irfan Dawood, Iftikhar Ahmed Almas, Faisal Anwar Minhas, Usman Ali, Shahid Anwar, Ali Raza, Ch. Sabir Ali, Ali Zaib Khan Khichi, Tanveer Ahmad Sheikh, Ghulam Abbas Haral, Hafiz Manzoor Ahmad Ansari, Sarmad Ali Ghani, Mian Ejaz Latif, Mian Muhammad Aslam , Waheed Alam , Waseem Ahmad Malik, Ms. Riaz Begum, Mohsin Ali, Mohsin Mumtaz, Muhammad Ayaz Tahir, Ch. Ali Shazib, Abdul Basit Cheema , Muhammad Faizan Saleem, Muhammad Imran Saleem, Rashid Khan , Muhammad Mubashar Zulfiqar and Barrister Zain Ali Barq, Advocates. W.P. No.227807 of 2018

2 RESPONDENTS BY: Nasar Ahmad, Additional Attorney General, Asad Ali Bajwa, Deputy Attorney General and M uhammad Tahir Yaqub Khan, Deputy Attorney General. Hassan Ejaz Cheema, Assistant Advocate General with Qasim Abbas Bhatti, Director Law, LDA, Omer Hayat, Law Officer , Imran Abbas, Executive Legal, CBD, Masood Sadiq Tullah, Additional Director RUDA, Farrukh Habib Qureshi, A.D(Lit), M. Suleman Akash, Law Of ficer, Muhammad Shazib Amin, Director Law, WASA, Ms. Shazima A.D.Law WASA and Asmat Ullah, A.D. Legal, EPA, Punjab. Haris Azmat and Ms. Maryam Hayat, Advocates for PHA. Omer Tariq Shamim and Barrister Abbas Hayat , Advocates for the Punjab Transport Company. Barrister Osama Zafar, Advocate for the Urban Unit. Sahibzada Muzaffar Ali, Advocate for LDA assisted by Muhammad Mustafa. Mian Irfan Akram, Advocate for WASA. Muhammad Nawaz Manik, Advocate for EPA. Shazib Masud, Kh. Ayyaz Ahmad and M. Asad Buttar, Advocates for CBD. Iftikhar A. Mian, Advocate for MCL. Ehsan Ullah Manj, Advocate for Cantonment Board. Ch. Imtiaz Elahi Advocate for LESCO. Legacy, what is a legacy? It's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me. (Final song in the play “Hamilton”) Shahid Karim, J :-. This is the last judgment in the trilogy, the first two judgments having been reported as Haroon Farooq vs. Government of the Punjab & others (2023 CLC 1 (Lahore)) and Haroon Farooq vs. Government of the Punjab & others (2025 CLC 280 (Lahore) ). They are closely related and spring out of a continuing litigation to encapsulate the work accomplished till those writings. This judgment culminates the extraordinary and semin al work accomplished in a novel and paradigmatic form through the device of judicial review of public actions. It does not mean that the goal has been accomplished. Far from it. Yet it sets the tone for future actions and lays the groundwork for building r esilience and adaptation W.P. No.227807 of 2018

3 policies. During the course of these proceedings, governments have come on board (though reluctantly at times) and have pursued policies based on the decisions o f this Court. A robust culture of decision -making has developed with environment and water conservation at its heart. The realization is now deeply ingrained in the fabric of our society that natural world matters and that nature has been there for us when we needed it the most yet we have allowed our natural world and clima te to reach a breaking point. The natural world is not just nice to have, it fundamentally matters to each and everyone of us. Right now we are facing a man -made disaster of global scale –climate change. If we do not take action, the collapse of our civiliz ation and much of the natural world is on the horizon. This complex web of life of which we are a part must be preserved. The embrace of this reality has started to sink in, though bureaucratic inertia has slowed the process considerably. This petition quickly transformed into a melting pot of ideas. Many joined in good faith as well-meaning individuals and organizations and contributed in their own way. In this journey we came across some very capable civil servants who were willing to embrace the challenge (at the cost of being subjected to a number of detriments). 2. This petition and the design of its proceedings occupies a unique position in the annals of our judicial history. The crises of climate change has been decades in the making and hence the idea for a sustained and faithful effort spread over years was born to have the desired outcomes. Political reticense had to be counteracted by judicial inclination to tackle exceptional circumstances. This was unusual but not without precedent. Courts in Pak istan and elsewhere have stepped in to fill the void driven by the ― fierce urgency of now‖, articulated by Martin Luther King. 3. Einstein said: ― We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them ". In the same vein Goethe ob served: ― Life belongs to the living and the living must be prepared for change ‖. In the face of governmental stonewalling of liberal climate agenda this Court had to undertake an enterprise placing reliance upon the lodestar of practical justice. The pursuit of practical justice was recognized by Lord Goff of Chieveley who wrote that: "the common law is a living system of law, reacting to new events and new ideas, and so capable of providing the citizens of this country with a system of practical justice r elevant to the times in which they W.P. No.227807 of 2018

4 live." [Kleinwort Benson Ltd. v Lincoln City Council (1999) 2 A.C. 349, 377].

4. This Court merely seized the moment lest it came to pass irretrievably, working on the aphorism " present opportunities are not to be negle cted; they rarely visit us twice," (Voltaire). And so, these proceedings were set in motion inspired by the deathless lines of Martin Luther King : ―Even if I know that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.‖ The apple tree we planted will, hopefully, trigger the planting of many more. At every step, this Court‘s actions were informed by the prayer of a wise man, ―God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference‖. 5. At the heart of these proceedings was imagination, which, as Aristotle said, is one of the foundations of all knowledge. Drawing on a number of studies undertaken globally (and reports compile d by international agencies) those lessons were sought to be applied domestically with necessary tweaking. WASA's reports indicated groundwater depletion at an alarming rate. Pakistan is a water -stressed country and so water conservation quickly moved to the centre of these proceedings. Hen ce the novel idea of constructing water ablution tanks adjoining the mosques. There was no data to rely on but it was clear that large amounts of water was being wasted while carrying out ablution duties at mosques. The question was how to use that water s o that it does not go to waste! We set about finding a way to conserve thousands of litres of water each day by channeling that water into purpose-built water tanks. T hereafter the stored water was to be used for irrigating adjoining parks, maintained by P HA, or private housing societies. Gradually an entire system was crafted and PHA was ordered to use the stored water for supply to different parks. At the same time it was prohibited from using water from other sources. This ingenious mechanism was a home -grown response to a uniquely domestic issue and the results were evident from subsequent reports filed by WASA regarding Lahore's aquifer. For the past five years it has sustained at the same level without further depletion . This, combined with raft of other measures yielded highly consequential results brought forth in the following sections of this opinion in greater detail. 6. The other idea of significance was the construction of underground rainwater storage tanks, at various places in Lahore. This id ea can be attributed to Mr. Zahid Aziz, WASA‘s M.D at that time (an officer of W.P. No.227807 of 2018

5 impeccable integrity and competence). The site for the first water tank was chosen as Bagh-e-Jinnah and it took a barrage of orders by this Court to extract funds from the gover nment for the project which was at the lowest rung of government‘s priorities. Underground water tanks have now become an important plank of WASA‘s water conservation policies and a number of such projects have come up in different parts of the city. It se rves twin purposes; apart from storing rainwater in a dedicated storage facility it prevents rainwater from accumulating on roads and residential areas. The monsoon season brings a deluge of freshwater and such measures are merely a reminder to governments to take steps to conserve this precious resource. 7. While on the subject, the construction of Recharge Wells must find mention as a prominent feature of the water conservation policy pursued by this Court. Members of the Commission (issued by this Court and the details of which follow shortly) in consultation with experts urged this Court to order construction of these Wells by regulators, departments, NGOs, housing societies etc. and WWF offered to take up the lead role in not only partially financing these Wells but also offering their consultancy services free of cost. The result of this initiative can be viewed under the section 'Recharge Wells' in the following pages. In short, it lays the groundwork for various governments to build upon in order to recharge underground water table. 8. Smog is a recent phenomenon aggravated by carbon emissions and other human activity. It started to engulf Lahore (and now the entire country) during winter months. The pleas of a large number of public spirited individuals and NGOs prompted this Court to pivot the proceedings to environmental issues confronting Lahore and Punjab generally. Lahore frequently suffers from dangerous levels of toxic smog. The thick haze is caused by vehicle emissions, industrial smoke and sea sonal crop burning. Cold air traps this pollution close to the ground, creating a suffocating layer of toxic air. The air contains dangerous microscopic particles called PM2.5 and PM10. When breathed in, they go deep into our lungs and bloodstream. It soon became clear that smog was neither fabrication nor hyperbole but a current menace of dangerous proportions which must be confronted headlong and without delay. As they say, in any enquiry the first step is to ask the right question! The right question her e was, what caused smog to accumulate? The main causes according to different reports include: W.P. No.227807 of 2018

6  Vehicle Emissions: cars, motorcycles, and older diesel trucks produce about 83% of the city's local air pollution.  Factories and Brick Kilns: Industrial smoke and unregulated brick kilns emit low-quality fuel exhaust.  Crop Burning: Farmers burn leftover plant stalks in nearby fields.  Dust: Construction work creates extra dust that floats into the air. 9. The government had scant realization of the gravity of situation we were mired in. It was evident that this Court could not sit in a state of judicial inertia and directions were needed to go out to the Executive to nudge it into action on this extremely vital issue. What followed was a tour de force of climate justice. Initially the governments were reluctant to admit that vehicular emissions were the primary cause of smog but reports coming out of government departments, such as Urban Unit, themselves supported the claim made by experts appointed by the Court . I shall pause here to commend the brilliant work being undertaken by the Urban Unit under the stewardship of its CEO Mr. Muhammad Omar Masud. In my opinion this department should be at the forefront of all actions regarding environmental pollution and wa ter conservation. 10. The more expansive discussion regarding measures put in place will be alluded to in the next few pages with formatting of each work separately . At this moment, suffice to refer to the directions issued by this Court which set in motion a revolutionary transition of how brick kilns operated in Punjab. They were directed to convert to a newer, more efficient and environmentally friendly technology, namely, zig zag technology. EPA Punjab was tasked with enforcement duties and for the purp ose a timeline was given. According to the last report filed by EPA all brick kilns operating in Punjab have converted to the new form of operation and this alone signifies the influence of these proceedings. Simultaneously, in order to control industrial smoke, directions were issued (on the recommendations of members of the Commission who consulted experts in their fields) to all industrial units to install dry scrubbers which have now been installed across all units in and around Lahore (This too is evid ent from the latest EPA report). The incumbent DG EPA, Dr. Imran Hamid Sheikh is a dynamic officer who wholeheartedly embraced the initiatives/directions by this Court and has been instrumental in implementing the vision of this Court to elevate EPA, Punja b as the premier regulatory authority in all such matters. W.P. No.227807 of 2018

7 11. Pyrolysis Plants (manufacturing units set up illegally and operating stealthily to churn out fuel made from old tyres and other banned st uff) were noted in various reports to be one of the bigg est causes of smog and pollution. Their owners had the support of powerful government officials and on the orders of this Court a large -scale operation was conducted to demolish them. Thousands of old tyres were recovered from godowns across Punjab. Prior to this, rules were amended to clothe EPA with the necessary powers to not only take action but also to demolish the facility outright. This gave a major impetus to efforts to control smog. To reiterate, large number of industries (mostly steel units) used fuel produced by these Pyrolysis plants to emit toxic smoke from their chimneys. The last report filed by EPA confirms that at present no Pyrolysis plant is in operation in the entire Punjab. They have all been dismantled. 12. When we talk of environmenta l pollution, preservation of trees (and plantation of trees to increase tree cover) takes centre stage. For the first time, PHA has enforced regulations regarding cutting of trees and their replantation (which is a scientific method of uprooting a tree from one place and planting it at another to save that tree) which oblige every department of the government to seek a prior NOC for any project which involves cutting of trees. These regulations envisage the appointment of a Tree Officer and the creation of this post has been necessitated on account of extraordinary circumstances. An omnibus order was passed by this Court restraining cutting of trees across Punjab and pursuant to which a number of prompt actions were taken on any violations reported to the Co mmission by members of the public. The actions ordered by the Court not only saved hundreds of thousands of trees but also led to plantation of as many new trees. The order, as soon as it became know n widely, spawned a paradigm change in the mi ndset of gen eral public (which became aware of its rights) and the departments concerned. It was evident to all and sundry that felling and cutting of trees was a gross misdemeanor culpable as a crime. The report by PHA indicates the registration of criminal cases against persons responsible for unauthorized cutting of trees which was unprecedented. Projects were either ordered to be stayed or realigned that involved cutting of trees. The mention of two will suffice: One was the Yellow Line Project conceived by the Gov ernment of Punjab to run along the Lahore Canal and it was feared that at least 1400 mature trees will be cut down. The Government of Punjab was permanently restrained from cutting of W.P. No.227807 of 2018

8 trees for any such project and NESPAK too (which had already completed geo-tagging of trees along the canal) was directed not to plan the project in such a way that involved cutting and felling of trees. The order still holds the field at the writing of this opinion and it is hoped that the Government of Punjab, while recogniz ing State responsibility of protecting the environment under the Constitution, shall not conceive or plan any project which harms trees most of which have taken decades to reach full maturity. 13. The second and more recent instance relates to the road pr oject being constructed from Tehsil Headquarter Quaidabad to Tehsil Headquarter Noorpur Thal which is mentioned in the order of this Court dated 14.5.2026. As a result of this Court‘s intervention, the design and alignment of the project was revised to sav e 11000 trees. In addition, 13000 trees were undertaken to be planted along the newly constructed road. These trees, which are living beings and have rights, must have heaved a sigh of relief on the Court‘s intervention to save them. Doubtless, such an out come will not have been possible within the traditional procedural toolkit. This was the direct result of the nature of these proceedings being sui genesis. 14. The order to prohibit use of plastic bags by retailers and wholesalers was another significant milestone achieved during the proceedings. Plastic bags, as we all know, are a primary cause of pollution and adversely impact our lives in myriad of wa ys. They are not biodegradable and in the expert studies conducted so far there is a consensus for the need of complete and outright ban on their use. Keeping in view these studies, directions were issued to EPA to ensure the disuse of plastic bags by vendors. For the purpose, timeline was given to phase them out and in first instance large departmental stores were ordered to implement the policy. It will have to be borne in mind that in doing so this Court was merely compelling EPA to enforce the provisions of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 which obligated EPA to take enforcement measures in respect of plastic bags but was not being done for various reasons. Thus EPA fell short of its statutory duties which then required directions by this Court to undertake them. Gradually the movement caught on and shopkeepers, retailers and vendors, thoug h reluctantly at first, became part of the movement in transitioning to biodegradable bags duly approved by EPA. It became a new norm for the citizens of Lahore who were unaware heretofore about the toxic and abhorrent dangers of plastic bags. W.P. No.227807 of 2018

9 The basis to continue: 15. There has been a critical interrogation of this Court's authority to continue these proceedings unabated for more than eight years. The short answer is the highly consequential issues animating and forming the core of this litigation. It did not come to an end earlier because of its unique nature and structure and the ever evolving raft of reliefs which this Court was called upon to decide. I would describe it as a continuing subset of reliefs and causes of action which spawned out of the ori ginal relief claimed. The formation of a high-powered Commission provided the template for the instant petition to continue beyond the ordinary life of a normal constitutional petition, and served as a bulwark for the endurance and sustainability of these proceedings. These proceedings are rare and episodic in many ways, as will be unfolded in the following pages. One order, one judgment, one decision could not serve as a magic wand to deal with the complexity of the problem owing to its magnitude. It soon became evident that this petition, brought by a public - spirited individual, whose standing was not in doubt, had all the trappings of a petition brought collectively in fact by the people of the Province imploring for their fundamental human rights to be e nforced. Since the cause was recurrent and malleable in essence, the litigation, too, had to respond by moulding itself suitably. A student asked Aristotle: Why is justice so complex? He replied, because man is complex. In order to provide justice to a large group of people, this Court had to tackle a complex host of conditions and that required time. Hence the longevity of the proceedings. These proceedings are concerned with the proper functioning of Environmental Rule of Law and the indispensable role of courts in climate governance. It can truly be labelled as rights -based litigation seeking climate justice. It is now recognized globally that Judges' role in government makes them gatekeepers, even climate emergency managers, holding governments accountab le for meeting policy commitments and complying with legal obligations on climate change, the environment and sustainable development and thereby shaping legal and policy frameworks. Judges are central to balancing outcomes and protecting citizens' fundamental, constitutional and other legal rights. 16. We need diverse perspectives to create climate justice which could not be achieved in this case by closing the case with high -sounding words without more. Significant judicial advancements have often rested on the shoulders of jurists who are willing to apply new consciousness and imagination to existing W.P. No.227807 of 2018

10 principles to resolve society's pressing problems. To ensure the implementation of decisions this Court drew inspiration from writs of continuing mandamus p ioneered by other judiciaries across Asia and the Pacific. It is sometimes called Supervisory Jurisdiction as well. In this form of litigation court issues directions and asks the executive to report back. Some of the problems may resolve quickly and other s may require a sustained array of orders to overcome and this is a typical scenario in the face of growing climate change impacts. Climate change is a vast subject which involves a complicated balancing of a number of factors. This Court's traditional too lkit of reliefs to advance justice was not a sufficient response. Hence the reader will be affected so intensely by the awesomeness of the responsibility that goes with it, its capacity as a vehicle of change, that he too, like the American author Mark Tushnet, will be compelled to ask the question: What would a world without Judicial Review look like. 17. This petition had its source in Art.199 of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973. So far as relevant, Article 199 (1)(a)(i) and (c) provides that: “199. Jurisdiction of High Court ––(1) Subject to the Constitution, a High Court may, if it is satisfied that no other adequate remedy is proved by law,–– (a) On the application of any aggrieved party, make an order–– “(i) directing a person p erforming, within the territorial jurisdiction of the Court, functions in connection with…

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