View source for Asghar Leghari vs. Federation of Pakistan

{{Short description|Climate change litigation important to human rights principles}}
{{Infobox court case|name=Asghar Leghari vs. Federation of Pakistan|court=Lahore High Court|DecideDate=September 4, 2015}}
'''''Asghar Leghari vs. Federation of Pakistan''''' was a 2015 [[Lahore High Court]] case that ruled that the government was violating the National Climate Change Policy of 2012 and the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-2030) by failing to meet goals set by the policies. In response, a Climate Change Commission was required to be formed in order to help Pakistan meet its climate goals.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Gill|first=Anam|date=2015-11-13|title=Farmer sues Pakistan's government to demand action on climate change|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/pakistan-climatechange-lawsuit-idUSL8N1383YJ20151113|access-date=2021-04-21}}</ref>
== Background ==
A law student in the [[Punjab, Pakistan|Punjab]] region of Pakistan, Asghar Leghari had his and his neighbors' crops threatened by [[water scarcity]] and storms that were intensified by climate change. He filed a petition saying that his fundamental rights were violated through the neglection of climate change policy.<ref name=":0" />
He wrote that the government had shown "inaction, delay and lack of seriousness" in the face of the challenges posed by climate change. Leghari thought that this inaction threatened the food, water and energy security of the nation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Estrin|first=David|date=2016|title=THE DEVELOPING ROLE OF DOMESTIC COURTS IN STATE CLIMATE RESPONSIBILITIES|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep15534.8|journal=Limiting Dangerous Climate Change: The Critical Role of Citizen Suits and Domestic Courts — Despite the Paris Agreement|pages=14–16}}</ref>
Previously climate change policy was left up to individual provinces. However a study by [[Lahore University of Management Sciences]] and the [[World Wide Fund for Nature|WWF]] found that no provinces had a policy in place.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Alam|first=Ahmad Rafay|date=2015-09-25|title=Pakistan court orders government to enforce climate law|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1209256|access-date=2021-04-21|website=DAWN.COM|language=en}}</ref>
== Decision ==
It was ruled that the government needed to enforce the 2012 policy. Judge Syed Mansoor Ali Shah from the High Court said that climate change “appears the most serious threat faced by Pakistan”. The judge required every department to nominate a person to ensure that the policies were implemented and to create a list of "action points" by December 31, 2015.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Sterman|first=David|title=Pakistani Court Orders Climate Law Enforcement; US Reviews Afghan Withdrawal Plans; Modi Dines With Fortune 500 CEOs|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/09/25/pakistani-court-orders-climate-law-enforcement-us-reviews-afghan-withdrawal-plans-modi-dines-with-fortune-500-ceos/|access-date=2021-04-21|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan|url=http://climatecasechart.com/climate-change-litigation/non-us-case/ashgar-leghari-v-federation-of-pakistan/|access-date=2021-04-21|website=Climate Change Litigation|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-04-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210430035531/http://climatecasechart.com/climate-change-litigation/non-us-case/ashgar-leghari-v-federation-of-pakistan/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The decision also created a Climate Change Commission, made up of NGOs, technical experts and representatives of ministries in order to keep track of the government's progress.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Climate change litigation}}
[[Category:Climate change litigation]]
[[Category:Environmental issues in Pakistan]]
[[Category:2015 in Pakistan]]
[[Category:2015 in the environment]]
[[Category:2015 in Pakistani politics]]
[[Category:2015 in case law]]
[[Category:Pakistani case law]]
[[Category:Lahore High Court]]