Courts and the right to a healthy environment in Pakistan ^{CEFR A2}

Pakistan’s courts have increasingly recognised a constitutional right to a healthy environment. Landmark decisions such as Shehla Zia, which interpreted Article 9, and Asghar Leghari helped build a climate law tradition over two decades. In May 2025 the Abbottabad Bench of the Peshawar High Court issued a stern judgment blaming the government and the Environmental Protection Agency for failures to protect fragile mountain ecosystems. Parliament added Article 9A through the 26th Constitutional Amendment to reinforce environmental protection.

Despite these advances many barriers limit the courts' ability to deliver climate justice. A United Nations Environment Programme report published in October 2025 finds that climate litigation worldwide faces structural, procedural and financial obstacles and that strong civil society, a public interest litigation culture and specialised legal expertise are important. In Pakistan these supports remain weak, and individual petitioners often struggle to pay high litigation costs.