Sources in Forest Department say Saudi Prince has arrived in Balochistan and has already started hunting. PHOTO: AFP
QUETTA: A day after a Saudi prince arrived in Balochistan to hunt Houbara Bustards, the provincial government on Thursday challenged orders of the Balochistan High Court in the Supreme Court (SC) which banned hunting of the rare birds, a senior official of the Balochistan government told The Express Tribune.
According to an official of the Balochistan government, the Forest Department of Balochistan filed the petition in the SC challenging the BHC’s orders to cancel allotments to Arab dignitaries, as well as a ban on hunting Houbara bustards.
Secretary Forest Department Balochistan, Khuda-e-Rahem, thogugh, refused to comment on the issue maintaining that the matter is sub-judice.
In November, 2014, the high court had cancelled permits granted to foreigners -- including Arab royals – for hunting the rare birds. All allotments of areas to the royal families for hunting were cancelled by the court.
Saudi prince starts hunting
On Wednesday, the Saudi governor for Tabuk Prince Fahad bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud arrived at the Dalbandin Airport in Chagai district on a special plane. He was received by Federal Minister Ahsan Iqbal, Provincial Minister Mujeebur Rehman Mohammed Hassani and MPA Amanullah Notezai before being driven to his camp in Ek Mach.
According to sources in the Forest Department, the Saudi Prince started hunting in the Ek Mach desert on Thursday morning.
“He had started hunting in Gutt Game Century in the Ek Mach area of Chagai,” an official said on condition of anonymity.
Most officials in Balochistan refused to give details as to why the Saudi Prince was allowed to hunt the rare bird despite orders from the high court.
Last year, a prince hunted as many as 2,100 Houbara Bustards contrary to the terms of his license which allows 100 Bustards during a ten day trip.
In that season, as many as 29 Arab dignitaries were allowed to hunt in different parts of Balochistan by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The Houbara Bustard have been included in the list of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Arab princes have been hunting in the Chagai district for at least four decades now.
COMMENTS (21)
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@Fawad: Slaves can't protest dear! Grin and bear it!
And what about the hunting games these saudi's are playing with our people.
@Waar @boom boom afridi
With your logic, what's the big deal if I come to your house with a lot and lot of money and oil and expensive presents each year, hug you ,kiss you and then once you are enjoying the moment, ask you for one of cousin sisters for just some time. You might be shocked but then I remind you of all the presents , gifts , money and oil and what not. I also offer you poor lot good jobs back in my royal palace, and a life of everlasting relationship, provided you close your eyes to this small yearly request of mine and facilitate it for me.
Do you see the parallel with this? Do you have any dignity or honour and character, to say NO? Ironically, I am also from one of the erstwhile princely states of India (17-gun salute by the British) but we have honour ,dignity and character. This is no lie.
@ET, please publish.
Pakistan, the playground of the world.!
We always act as a colony of foreign imperialists whether they are Americans or Arabs. On the other hand this shows the standards of morality of these Arabs.
They should hunt this Arab sheikh, where are those useless Terrorists when you need them to do a favor, just for a change, they should be given a license to Hunt this Saudi Arby Bustard, who comes to kill this beautiful endangered bird every year to Pakistan. dawn please publish this post, if you are truly a Pakistani Website. Thank you.
Have PML N and Nawaz Sharif sold Balochistan to Arabs? It was Late Field Marshal Ayub Khan who purchased Gawadar from Oman! See the difference?
Why a mere hunting can produce such furious comments??its not a big deal...just think of how many persons of the nation go there to earn penny and send it back to the homeland its nothing in front of those ill fated birds..
Allowing Audi Prince's to hunt endangered Houbara Bustard birds reminds me of the Raj days when gin soaked, cigar smoking British colonels hunted tigers, and other endangered species. I see very little difference between Saudi royalty and the British Raj, although the British Raj may have been a slight improvement?
Saudis behead Pakistanis when they break Saudi law. Let's show some reciprocity.
Even a bird gets benign death from a Saudi prince while a Pak mule gets beheaded ,like chicken, routinely by an unknown person . Only thing in common in both cases - the offender " pays" for it.
What happened to "sovereign equality"? lol
Saudis gave/lent us $1. 5 billion 18 months ago.
We are in debt to them, have sold our souls, we allow them to spread extreme wahabism and dictate our foreign policy.
We are their moden day slaves, trust me we have no backbone to change things.
Never mind as Waar says, think of the tourism potential, just hop they don't choose to hunt us next for 'sport'.
Baluchistan govt. should get a medal,it is not only anti people it is also anti wildlife.
@waar does common sense allow you to break the law? Shameless. Also, killing endangered birds will hurt tourism not help.
$1.5 billion buys you a lot of clout. After the Bustrards are no more these Saudi Royals are going to play hunting games with Pakistani public.
Why blame the Americans or Saudis, Pakistan's honor has been for sale since 1947. I don't hear the great Imran Khan say anything either, apparently he has more important affairs to attend to.
I said earlier that what's the point in forbidding hunting..remember in return they give us billions and oil besides it could serve as a tourism promotion...now you have to decide which is more important ...please have some common sense...
Don't worry, a few days later our Beggar-In-Chief Ishaq Dar will once again be glowing with good news of $1billion or so charity from 'friendly brotherly country'.
I pity the endangered birds, government fighting judiciary to please Arabs. And the bird is protected world wide, well if human life has no value in Pakistan who cares about the birds. I just wonder why opposition, Imran have nothing to say about this. Perhaps they know they can't make Arabs angry, who beheads Pakistani on regular basis on Drug charges. But if Arabs break law in Pakistan, nothing happens. Where is media outcry, where are the politicians??
What a farce! They have already broken the law and they should be charged with contempt of court. Or can I break a law I don't like and then challenge the law in court?