Debate on hunting houbara bustards

Pakistan’s Foreign Office recently expressed apprehensions before the Supreme Court against the ban on hunting the houbara bustard, that it allegedly affected the country’s ties with certain Middle Eastern countries. Lawmakers spoke on this issue during the current session of parliament. They wished to bring to attention of the top judge of the country that people in 11 districts of all four provinces were being affected by this ban as their bread and butter depended on the hunting of the endangered bird.

The deputy speaker did not stop speeches on this sub judice matter. The members of parliament claimed that many people had requested the lifting of the ban. A number of public representatives approached the apex court to seek a remedy against the ban, referring to the alleged plight of residents, in an attempt to turn the matter into a public interest issue. Interestingly, during the parliamentary debate, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz remained silent on the issue.

The forest, environment and wildlife departments had their own stance and held that hunting with falcons and hawks was prohibited and referred to international commitments in the preservation of endangered species of flora and fauna.

After the passage of 18th amendment, this issue comes under the ambit of the provinces. The PTI-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa is the only province, which has not backed the Foreign Office’s petition in the apex Court against the ban, and took the stance that something as trivial as hunting of the houbara bustard should not be considered an issue impacting our foreign policy and diplomacy.

Our apex court has recently been known for its independent historic judgments. Our trust in the courts is an asset. The court has never blocked the lawful option of fair comments and criticism over its judgments. The speaker has not barred or expunged the remarks of parliamentarians and the court did not issue any notice to them. All this shows that there is a system in place in our country and that it is the welfare of the citizens that is an issue of central concern here — not the appeasement of foreign dignitaries.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 4^th, 2016.