RAWALPINDI - Pursuant to an order passed by the Honourable Justice Jawad Hassan of the Honourable Lahore High Court, Rawalpindi Bench, the new Kohsar Ecosystem Authority will be established under the proposed Kohsar Development Authority Act, 2021 (the “Draft Act”); which was presented before the Honourable Court on 11 October by Mr. Akhtar Javaid, Secretary Law and Parliamentary Affairs Department, Government of the Punjab.
Justice Jawad Hassan passed a short order disposing off WP 75/2022, a case of public interest litigation brought by Advocate Taimoor Aslam Khan counsel to the Murree Development Forum for the protection of the ecosystem of Murree, Kahuta and Kotli Sattian (Kohsar Ecosystem).
In the order, Justice Jawad Hassan introduces the concept of the curate’s egg by referring to the jurisprudence developed by the English Courts to show some of the good and bad parts in a judgment – the story goes that in 1895 the London satirical magazine Punch published a famous cartoon in which a bishop says to a curate at breakfast, “I’m afraid you’ve got a bad egg, Mr. Jones”. The curate replies, “Oh no, my lord, I assure you that parts of it are excellent”. The good part of the order is that the Court confirms the prayer of Petitioner to promulgate appropriate legislation for protection of trees and mountain Murree hills from being destroyed and to regulate all those affairs by an authority. And the bad part in one aspect, at least for Petitioner, is that his counsels’ proposed legislation will give way to the Draft Act already sent to the Punjab Standing Committee of the Cabinet on Legislative Business for consideration and approval; the Court observed that overall it is a good egg as the Draft Act also considers and covers the important issues raised in the Writ Petition.
The case brings into focus the herculean efforts of the Honourable Lahore High Court to protect our precious environment. Justice Jawad Hassan highlighted the issue of eco-preservation, conservation and protection of the Kohsar Ecosystem, which is all the more important for the fragile environment in the aftermath of the Murree tragedy of last winter. The Honourable Court ordered that all State functionaries are directed to strictly follow the awaited law after its approval.
Contributions of various stakeholders from the relevant ministries and civil society were acknowledged by the Honourable Court. The detailed judgment will follow.