PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments to respond to a petition seeking an immediate crackdown on illegal harvesting and commercial exploitation of glacial ice in Hazara and Malakand regions of the province.

A bench consisting of Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Fazal Subhan also sought comments of the deputy commissioners of the relevant Swat, Mansehra, Upper Dir and Chitral districts on the petition.

Petitioner Tariq Afghan, a lawyer, sought the court’s orders for the KP Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter to identify culprits for legal action.

He also prayed the court to direct the respondents, including the EPA, provincial governments, and the deputy commissioners to strictly enforce laws and regulations on environmental protection to prevent illegal glacier cutting for commercial purposes.

It also asks DCs of relevant districts to file comments on petition

The petitioner sought the court’s orders for the federal and provincial governments to make special laws to conserve glaciers.

Advocate Sajeed Khan Afridi appeared before the court along with the petitioner and insisted that it was a petition of public interest.

He said that recently, his client learned about the illegal harvesting of glacial ice for commercial purposes, an activity that posed a serious threat to the environment, biodiversity and the lives of the people who got water from it.

The lawyer said that on June 14, 2024, the petitioner submitted a detailed complaint to the EPA’s director-general about that illegal activity and sought immediate action.

He, however, complained that despite a lapse of more than a month, the EPA neither took any substantial action to address the issue nor did it inform the petitioner about progress on his complaint.

The counsel contended that glacier cutting was a violation of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997, KP Environmental Protection Act, 2014, and the national and provincial climate change policies.

He also said that the depletion of glaciers disrupted the fragile ecological balance, adversely affecting local flora and fauna, and undermining efforts to preserve biodiversity.

“KP is home to around 3,050 glaciers, primarily located in its northern regions. Certain groups are involved in the unauthorised extraction of glacial ice for commercial purposes and its transportation in large blocks,” he said.

The lawyer argued that the activity was causing rapid depletion of those crucial natural resources.

He saidthatglaciers played an essential role in regulating the Earth’s climate by reflecting solar radiation and maintaining global temperature balance.

“Reduction of glacial mass accelerates global warming and climate change, leading to severe consequences for weather patterns, agricultural productivity, and human health.”

The counsel saidthatPakistan was a signatory to the Paris Agreement and Convention on Biological Diversity and several other international agreements for the protection of the ecosystem, which made it binding on the country to protect its reserves of glaciers.

He added that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, along with its protocols and agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement, bound parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change, which directly impacted glacier melt and preservation.

The lawyer also saidthatthe 2030United NationsAgenda for Sustainable Development included 17 SDGs, several of which were relevant to glacier protection.

Published in Dawn, July 31st, 2024