Houbara bustard: SC hearing against bar on falconry hunting today

Review petition argues apex court did not consider Pakistan’s ties with Middle East

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will take up today (Thursday) the federal and provincial governments’ review petitions against its ruling barring them from granting permits for hunting an indigenous game bird Tiloor, also known as houbara bustard.

The apex court’s three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, will hear the federal and Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan governments’ review petitions against its August 19 judgment, which had barred them from granting permits for hunting the bird. In its ruling, the Supreme Court had also reminded the governments that the country’s laws were not a ‘saleable commodity’.



Later, Additional Attorney General Chaudhry Abdul Rehman on behalf of the federal government filed a review petition against the apex court’s verdict. The federal government had contended that the ban on hunting Tiloor could affect the frail ties between Pakistan and the Middle East.

The government’s review petition said the apex court, while issuing the verdict, had not considered Pakistan’s relations with Middle Eastern countries in the backdrop of the Yemen crisis.

“Since Pakistan has decided to remain neutral in view of the National Assembly’s April 10 resolution, the decision has adversely affected the country’s diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern countries. The ban on falconry hunting of houbara bustard could further affect the already weakened relations,” the petition said.



It said falconry is not merely a sport for the Arabs but it is their most cherished custom. “Unesco recognises it as cultural heritage of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar. Therefore, allowing Arab dignitaries to hunt would be pivotal to restoring Pakistan’s deteriorating ties,” it said.

The government further argued that the issue pertained to external affairs and that the superior courts had always deferred to the judgment of the executive in such matters.

“Ties with the Middle East have a direct impact on livelihood of millions of Pakistani expats living and working in the region,” it said, adding that the foreign dignitaries also bring in considerable funds, which are used exclusively for the uplift of the people living in the hunting areas.



In its review petition, the Punjab government stated that the top court’s judgment did not take into account the fact that the issue regarding the permission to allow hunting of the bird constituted an inter-provincial matter.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 12^th, 2015.