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The National Assembly Session has been prorogued on Friday, the 28th August, 2026. | Committee Meetings: 11:00 AM: 20th meeting of the SC on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination at Constitution Room (2nd Floor), Parliament House , Islamabad | 02:00 PM: 24th meeting of the Standing Committee on Information Technology and Telecommunication (Revised, Change in Date & Time) at Committee Room No.7 (4th Floor), Parliament House, Islamabad | 02:00 PM: 12th meeting of the Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat at Conference Room of Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA), 18th Floor, New State Life Tower, Blue Area, Islamabad | 02:30 PM: 25th meeting of the Sub-Committee-IV of the PAC on Monitoring & Implementation pertaining to M/o Housing & Works at Committee Room No.2, (1st Floor), Parliament House, Islamabad
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Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination meets

Thursday, 10th September, 2026
NA Climate Change Committee calls for a regular vehicle emission testing mechanism in Islamabad and recommends that the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 be reviewed and updated;
National Environment Report to be published by 15 December, first since 2016, Pak-EPA informs Committee.
 
• The Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency informed the Committee that the Annual National Environment Report, last published in 2016, is under preparation in collaboration with SDPI and will be published by 15 December.
• The Committee recommended a regular mechanism for emission testing of motor vehicles in the Islamabad Capital Territory. 
• The Committee recommended that the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 and its Schedule be updated. 
 
Islamabad (September 10, 2026): The Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination met today in Constitution Room, Parliament House, to receive a briefing from the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (Pak-EPA) on the statutory mandate, institutional capacity and enforcement performance of the Agency under the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997. 
 
2. The Chairperson expressed reservations at the inconsistency of the data reported in the briefs laid before the Committee. On the Annual National Environment Report, the Committee was informed that the last such Report had been published in 2016; that a Report covering the last five years is under preparation, consultative meetings having been in progress for a year; and that it will be published by 15 December, 2026. 
 
3. The Committee was briefed on performance of Pak-EPA. It stated that it is working towards the establishment of air monitoring systems. The Chairperson observed that the Agency should work upon prevention rather than monitoring alone, upon which the Agency replied that it is working to control transport related pollution, and that it is working with the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to introduce an electric bus system in the Islamabad Capital Territory. Inquiring into the Air Quality Management Plan shared with the Committee at its previous meeting, the Chairperson sought particulars of the short-term plan, expressed reservations that the Plan was not being followed, and recommended that car-pooling be encouraged within the Agency and the Ministry through a campaign on social media.
 
4. On the monitoring of diesel-engine commercial transport, the Committee was informed that 50 vehicles had been inspected and 11 fined. The Committee observed that vehicles ought to be subjected to regular inspection rather than spot checking, and recommended that a regular mechanism be established for emission testing of motor vehicles in the Islamabad Capital Territory. 
 
5. On the National Environmental Quality Standards, the Committee was informed that the Agency follows the rules of 2010, that these are comparable to those of countries of the region. Similarly, the Committee recommended that a report on water testing, standards and the performance of laboratories be presented to it, and it was proposed that environmental laboratories be visited.
6. On enforcement, the Committee was informed that fines are imposed both by the Agency and by the Tribunal, that a surveillance and monitoring system is in place for industrial monitoring, and that dust monitoring is undertaken through environmental impact assessment and initial environmental examination requirements. The Agency stated that it is under-funded and under-staffed and is moving towards digitisation. The Committee recommended that details of the employees of the Agency and of the Ministry on deputation, with the reasons for each, be furnished to it. 
 
7. The Committee expressed reservations at the negligible social media presence of the Ministry and recommended that it be enhanced, and further recommended that the Pakistan Environmental Protection Act, 1997 be reviewed and updated, that the Schedule to that Act be updated in respect of international treaties, and that members of the Pakistan Climate Change Authority be invited to attend its next meeting.
 
8. The detailed briefing by the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board on the protection and management of the Margalla Hills National Park and other protected areas of the Islamabad Capital Territory was deferred on account of the non-attendance of the Chairman of the Board.
 
9. The meeting was attended by Mir Khan Muhammad Jamali, MNA; Ms. Shaista Pervaiz, MNA; Syeda Shehla Raza, MNA; Ms. Mussarat Rafique Mahesar, MNA; Dr. Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, MNA; Ms. Rana Ansar, MNA; Ms. Tamkeen Akhter Niazi, MNA; Ms. Shahida Rehmani, MNA; Ms. Tahira Aurangzeb, MNA; and Mr. Muhammad Usman Badini, MNA, besides the Secretary, Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, and senior officers of the Ministry and of the Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency.