Court directs the forest department to monitor glacier sites.
DLP Report
PESHAWAR
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has imposed an immediate ban on the illegal cutting of glaciers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the local community and directed the concerned Deputy Commissioners (DCs) to submit detailed reports on the matter.
A two-member bench comprising Justice Ijaz Anwar and Justice Waqar Ahmed issued the orders while hearing a writ petition filed by Tariq Afghan Advocate against the ongoing illegal extraction of glacier ice for commercial purposes.
During the hearing, petitioner’s counsel Advocate Sajid Afridi informed the court that glacier cutting is still being carried out in various areas of KP, with ice being transported to markets, particularly during the summer months. He warned that this practice has severe environmental consequences, including contributing to floods due to accelerated glacier melt.
Justice Waqar Ahmed remarked, “This may have been a common practice in the past, but it is alarming that it is still continuing.” Advocate Afridi emphasized that up to 200 trucks of glacier ice are extracted daily and sold for commercial use, which is accelerating the melting of glaciers and leading to devastating floods, as seen last year in Chitral.
Representing the provincial government, Additional Advocate General Syed Sikandar Shah stated that the Environment Department had submitted a report claiming it is not feasible to extract ice from glaciers located thousands of feet high. However, the petitioner’s counsel countered that the glaciers are being cut from lower altitudes, making the activity possible and widespread.
Justice Ijaz Anwar criticized the government’s inaction, stating, “The government seems indifferent; agricultural lands are vanishing while housing societies continue to expand.” Justice Waqar Ahmed added, “The government should have already imposed a complete ban. The Forest Department should monitor glacier sites just as it does forest resources.”
Advocate Afridi argued that the illegal glacier cutting violates the Environmental Protection Acts of 1997 and 2014 and called for immediate legislation to protect these vital natural resources. He cited Argentina and Tajikistan as examples of countries that have passed specific glacier protection laws and urged Pakistan to follow suit.
The court concluded the hearing by ordering a complete ban on glacier cutting and instructed the provincial government and all relevant Deputy Commissioners to enforce the ban and submit comprehensive reports at the next hearing.
