Pakistan faces climate threats from glacier melt and plastic pollution

Islamabad: Senator Sherry Rehman strongly criticised the weak enforcement of the plastic ban in Islamabad, saying Parliament could not be treated as a joke while prohibited plastic products continued to be widely used. At the same meeting, serious concerns were raised over melting glaciers, Glacial Lake Outburst Flood risks and whether government institutions were doing enough to protect vulnerable communities.

The Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change expressed dissatisfaction over the continued widespread use of plastic in the federal capital despite legislation aimed at restricting plastic book covers and harmful plastic products.

Sherry Rehman said plastic waste was still collecting across Islamabad and contributing to blocked drains. She questioned why prohibited plastic products continued to be used even after Parliament had passed legislation. She said compliance with the law must be mandatory.

The committee also raised questions about products being sold or promoted as biodegradable or recyclable. Sherry Rehman said such claims should not simply be accepted without proper standards and verification. She noted that only around 9 percent of plastic is recycled globally, while large amounts eventually reach landfills, drains and the wider environment.

The committee also discussed how a plastic ban could affect ordinary families. Sherry Rehman said many lower income households depend on plastic packaging for daily products including milk and yoghurt. She said the government could not simply impose restrictions without making affordable alternatives available to the public.

She stressed that after banning harmful plastic products, authorities also needed to provide practical and affordable alternatives for poorer consumers. The committee was told that alternatives to traditional plastic already exist through some businesses and startups.

However, members noted that these alternatives were still not available at the scale or price required for widespread public use. Sherry Rehman also questioned the availability of plastic collection and recycling centres.

She asked where people could take plastic waste so it could be properly collected instead of being dumped in landfills, drains or waterways. The committee stated that successful environmental regulation requires both strict enforcement and practical support for businesses and consumers trying to move away from harmful materials.

Another major concern was Pakistan’s growing glacier crisis. The committee received a briefing on Glacial Lake Outburst Floods and the dangers facing people living near glaciers and mountainous areas. A United Nations Development Programme official told the committee that Pakistan has more than 30,000 glaciers and that climate change is speeding up glacier melt.

The committee was informed that 108 disaster events had been handled through early warning systems, including two Glacial Lake Outburst Flood events. Sherry Rehman expressed dissatisfaction with the briefing.

She said the committee had received largely similar information before and questioned what had actually changed on the ground. She asked officials to explain what new steps had been taken to protect people living in vulnerable areas. She also questioned why the briefing failed to properly show the speed and scale of glacier melting.

The committee discussed reports suggesting that around 16 percent of glaciers had melted. Sherry Rehman said officials needed to explain what Pakistan planned to do as the threat to glaciers continued to increase. She also said the glacier crisis could not be handled as a separate climate issue.

She called for stronger coordination with the National Disaster Management Authority and the Pakistan Meteorological Department. Sherry Rehman said the Pakistan Meteorological Department is the main technical institution responsible for important information about weather, climate and glacier conditions.

She said the National Disaster Management Authority also needed to be fully involved in disaster preparation, emergency response and risk management. The discussion showed that Pakistan faces two very different but connected environmental challenges.

In the cities, plastic waste continues to pollute streets, block drains and create enforcement problems. In the mountains, rising temperatures and glacier melting are increasing the danger of floods and other disasters for vulnerable communities.

The committee made clear that simply passing laws or presenting reports was not enough. Authorities were asked to show real enforcement, better planning, stronger coordination and practical solutions that ordinary people could actually use. The central question raised by the meeting was whether Pakistan’s environmental laws and climate plans are producing visible results on the ground.