Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wrote a 17-page written order for the July 11 hearing, which said that one in every nine deaths in the world is due to air pollution and according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution accounts for seven million deaths annually.

The written order said that Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan are the most polluted countries in the world, adding 22.9 percent of the total population of the world is in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan.

“According to the air quality report, Pakistan is the second most polluted country in the world. It is the basic constitutional right of every citizen to live in a clean and transparent environment. Due to environmental pollution, cancer and fatal heart diseases are taking place,” it stated.

“According to the report submitted in the court, there are three stone crushers in KP which are causing serious environmental pollution, and these crushing plants should be shut down immediately,” it ordered.

“The court has been told that there are 900 more stone-crushing plants in KP. The Provincial Environmental Protection Agency should inspect these 900 stone-crushing plants, and independent action should be taken against those plants that are spreading environmental pollution. Action should also be taken against those plants violating the rules related to pollution,” it added.

The court ordered the federal and provincial governments to renew the rules related to air pollution.

The court while seeking a progress report from the federal and provincial governments said that further hearing of the case will be held in the first week of November.

It should be remembered here that the residents of Suraj Gali Khanpur approached the court against the stone-crushing plants.