Two men had gone to court against govt officials for letting foreigners hunt on their land.
KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) allowed on Friday a constitutional petition against the issuance of permits to Gulf dignitaries for hunting endangered wildlife, particularly the houbara bustard.
A division bench, comprising justices Sajjad Ali Shah and Mushtaq Ali Memon, announced the verdict, which was earlier reserved after hearing arguments from the federal and provincial governments.
The petition was filed by Lal Khan Chandio and Rahib Kalhoro against the allotment of different areas of the country to Gulf dignitaries to hunt protected animals. They had cited the ministries of foreign affairs, Sindh chief secretary, the wildlife department secretary and others as respondents.
In their petition, the two men claimed that the foreign affairs ministry had allocated different districts of Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan to dignitaries of the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar for hunting.
The federal government granted 16 licences to various Arab monarchs, princes and sheikhs to hunt the endangered bird, claimed their lawyer, Mureed Ali Shah. These dignitaries have been allowed a 100 bag limit, he added.
The two judges were told that the houbara bustard was declared an endangered species in 1912 and a permanent ban on hunting the bird was imposed in 1972. On August 16, 1992 the Sindh High Court had struck down the temporary licences for Arab royals but the practice still continues, Shah alleged.
Shah pointed out that foreign hunters bring falcons with them to hunt the bird for which special hunting permits are issued by the government allowing temporary imports of falcons and for their subsequent re-export. Despite restraining orders passed by the high courts of Sindh and Balochistan, this hunting practice continues, he added.
Local landlords' involvement
The petitioners had accused local landlords of Sindh, Naseer Abdullah Hussain, Abdul Khaliq alKhoory, Muhammad Shahbaz Khan, Nawab Sardar Gaib Khan Chandio, Nawabzada Burhan Khan Chandio, of being agents of a private department of an Arab Sheikh.
The lawyer alleged that these private persons in-connivance with the officials have illegally taken over the personal property of the petitioners and others, and started operating in the area along with UAE officials, who have established hunting posts and prevented land owners, peasants, workers, tenants and shepherds from entering the area.
Government's stance
During the course of hearing, the additional attorney general had told the court that the hunting of the endangered wildlife was not permitted in the areas declared as wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. He had argued, however, that under section 16 of Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1972, the government may declare any area as 'game reserve', where hunting and shooting of wildlife shall not be allowed except special permits that specify the maximum number of animals or birds that may be killed or captured.
The federal law officer had also argued that the SHC judgment regarding the hunting of endangered wildlife passed in 1993 - one the petitioner's lawyer had relied upon - will be challenged by the federal government as certain provisions, including section 16, were not considered.
The provincial authorities had also defended the issuance of permits and hunting by the foreigners.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2014.
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