Govt moving at tortoise's pace on climate authority: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday reprimanded the government for its sluggish progress.

A five-member constitutional bench headed by Justice Aminuddin Khan heard a petition regarding the delay in the establishment of climate change authority, where the court raised concerns over the prolonged delay in appointing the authority's chairman and the questionable selection of its members.

The bench comprised Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Justice Hasan Azhar Rizvi and Justice Shahid Bilal Hasan.

"The government should move at the speed of a cheetah, but it is crawling like a tortoise," Justice Jamal Mandokhail observed.

During the hearing, the Additional Attorney General (AAG) informed the court that the government had issued a third advertisement for the chairman's post.

"Why did the first two advertisements fail?" Justice Mandokhail questioned.

The AAG explained that among the three shortlisted candidates, the top-ranked nominee was found to hold dual nationality, which disqualified him as per government policy.

"If you're looking for an exceptionally high-standard candidate, some compromises will have to be made," Justice Mandokhail noted, shifting focus to the authority's provincial operations. "The real problem is at the provincial level. How will this authority function there?"

The AAG responded that provincial members have already been appointed.

However, Justice Aminuddin pointed out that Faisal Amin, the Climate Change Authority member from K-P, is the brother of the provincial chief minister.

Meanwhile, Balochistan's representative is a university vice-chancellor with no expertise in climate issues, and bureaucrats have been appointed from Punjab and Sindh.

Justice Mandokhail criticised the selections, saying, "I know Balochistan's representative personally. He has no expertise in this field".