Bustards 1, Fed Gov 0

The humble Houbara bustard has found a champion in the Balochistan High Court (BHC), which on November 28 ruled as illegal a notification issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs allowing the issue of permits for their hunting.

A division bench of the BHC has told the provincial government to ensure the protection, preservation and conservation of the endangered species. Given that the provincial government has historically agreed to the federal government’s issuing of the licences and complied, there might be some impediments put in place to frustrate the ruling of the court.

The petition had been filed by two people, one a former speaker of the Balochistan Assembly, seeking the overruling of the licences issued to Arab dignitaries for the 2014-15 hunting season. The BHC heard the petition sympathetically and has ruled accordingly, which makes for a feather in the cap of judicial independence. The court has now asked the secretary of the Wildlife Department of Balochistan to submit a report detailing the measures taken with regard to protecting the bustards at the next hearing.

The ruling by the BHC is long overdue. The hunting of the Houbara bustard, which is an endangered species, is prohibited under Pakistani law. The permits are issued in violation of agreements that the government of Pakistan has signed and are transparently illegal. The federal government’s argument that those having the licences were in some way benefiting the areas they hunted in holds no water in the eyes of the BHC, which has clearly and definitively drawn a line under the federal government toadying to Arab ‘influentials’ in such a way as to amount to a violation of sovereignty. The foreign ministry notifications of licences were illegal and were not binding on the administration of Balochistan, over which the foreign ministry had no authority in the first place. The news is not going to be popular either with the federal government, the foreign ministry or those they pander to, but we welcome it and support the decision of the BHC. One small step in the direction of the rule of law, one giant leap in the protection of the Houbara bustard.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2014.

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.