Pakistan

Pakistan has a tradition of public interest litigation and has seen several high profile cases of climate litigation focused on human rights. All cases to date have been brought against the government, alleging both general and specific ways in which the government has failed to uphold its duties to address climate change.

The first climate case in Pakistan was Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan in which a farmer sued the national government for a general failure to carry out the National Climate Change Policy of 2012. In 2015, the Lahore High Court ruled in favor of Leghari and ordered the government to establish a climate change focal person at several agencies as well as a Climate Change Commission, both of which would be in charge of overseeing implementation of Pakistan's climate framework. The Leghari decision was a landmark case and the first climate change case from the Global South to generate world-wide scholarly and journalistic attention. The decision rested upon rights guaranteed under the Pakistani Constitution, specifically Article 9 (the right to life) and Article 14 (inviolability of human dignity), as well as international environmental law principles such as the public trust doctrine and precautionary principle. The Leghari case established a constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment and a climate capable of sustaining human life, a right which has served as a foundation for other cases in Pakistan.

Other cases brought in Pakistan have had a similar focus on human rights. Sheikh Asim Farooq v. Federation of Pakistan accused the government of failing to protect the forests of Punjab, thereby violating statutory requirements and the petitioners constitutional rights. Following in the footsteps of Leghari, Ali v. Federation of Pakistan alleges constitutional rights and public trust doctrine violations resulting from a number of actions and inactions by the Pakistani government, most prominently the pursuit of coal mining in the Thar desert region. Finally, in Khan v. Federation of Pakistan, a coalition of women brought a suit on behalf of themselves and future generations arguing that the government had failed to protect their constitutional rights. The case built upon Leghari but went further, arguing that the government's inaction violated equal protection under the law and was discrimination on the basis of sex because climate change would have a disproportionate impact upon women and future generations.

The strong precedent established by Leghari has made Pakistan an international leader in climate litigation based upon human rights. Leghari has served as a model for further human rights litigation in Pakistan and could serve as a model for climate litigation across the Global South.

Cases

 * Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan
 * [[Sheikh Asim Farooq v. Federation of Pakistan|Farooq v. Federation of Pakistan
 * Ali v. Federation of Pakistan
 * Khan v. Federation of Pakistan

Resources

 * Pakistan Cases (Sabin Center Database)
 * Pakistan Climate Laws (Grantham Research Institute)