Houbara bustard: Govt seeks permission for sustainable hunting

Government requests the Supreme Court to lift the perpetual ban on the hunting of Houbara bustard in the country

ISLAMABAD:

The government on Wednesday requested the Supreme Court to lift the perpetual ban on the hunting of Houbara bustard in the country.

The five judge larger bench of the apex court, headed by chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali was hearing a number of identical review petitions filed by federal and provincial governments challenging the court’s ban on hunting of the endangered bird, Houbara bustard.



Appearing before the court on behalf of the federal government, Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt contended that the government is not interested in having the court’s verdict annulled.  Butt said the government wanted a sustainable ban whereby some form of hunting is permitted.

While raising objections over the judgment, the attorney general stated that the Supreme Court cannot direct federal and provincial governments to frame laws to prevent the hunting of the endangered bird.

During the hearing, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, who authored the August 19 ruling, quizzed the attorney general over foreign ministry’s interest in the case. Responding to the judge’s query, the attorney general explained that foreign dignitaries are associated with the matter which falls under the domain of the ministry. The government must protect the species if it has been declared vulnerable, the judge retorted.



In its review petition, the government said that the apex court had not taken into consideration Pakistan’s diplomatic ties with Middle Eastern countries before issuing the verdict.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2016.