Supreme Court Expresses Displeasure Over Slow Appointment of Climate Change Authority Officials
Islamabad:The Supreme Court’s constitutional bench, hearing the case related to the establishment of the Climate Change Authority, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the federal government’s sluggish progress in appointing a chairman and members to the authority. The court emphasized that the government is moving at a “turtle’s pace” instead of the “cheetah’s speed” required for such an urgent issue.
The case was heard by a five-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan. During the proceedings, Justice Jamal Mandokhail remarked that climate change is a serious problem, and the government should be moving at the speed of a cheetah, but instead, it is moving at the pace of a turtle.
The Additional Attorney General informed the court that the advertisement for the appointment of the Authority’s chairman had been issued for the third time. Justice Jamal Mandokhail questioned why the first two advertisements had yielded no results. The Additional Attorney General explained that the shortlisted candidates were found to have dual citizenship, and the government’s policy prohibits individuals with dual citizenship from holding high office.
Justice Jamal Mandokhail responded by suggesting that some compromises may be necessary to find a qualified candidate for such a high-level position. He pointed out that the real challenge lies with the provinces, as they need to work on how the authority will function at the provincial level.
The Additional Attorney General mentioned that the members for the authority had already been appointed by the provinces. Justice Amin-ud-Din noted that from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Faisal Amin had been nominated, who is the brother of the Chief Minister, and from Balochistan, the Vice-Chancellor of a university had been appointed as a member. Justice Jamal Mandokhail expressed concerns, stating that he knew the Balochistan member personally and that they lacked expertise in this field.
Regarding Punjab and Sindh, the appointed members were bureaucrats, to which the Additional Attorney General replied that the provinces would be urged to nominate technocrats instead.
On further questioning, the Additional Attorney General confirmed that the draft rules for the authority had been prepared and would soon be sent to the Ministry of Law for approval. Justice Jamal Mandokhail noted that the law had been enacted in 2017, yet the chairman had not been appointed, and the rules were still pending. He added that everyone knows how the heads of environmental protection agencies are appointed in the provinces.
The Supreme Court adjourned the hearing of the Climate Change Authority case for one month.
