The petitioner claimed that the government had issued the permits despite a ban on hunting of the Houbara bustard.
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The South Carolina, however, rejected all the petitions filed by the federal provincial governments seeking permission of the hunting of Houbara bustards, stating that there was legal provision to allow hunts under peculiar guidelines in addition to license being issued for a small number of birds.
During the hearing, the Attorney General argued that the Houbara was not an endangered bird.
During the hearing of a petition filed by a citizen, the bench said that after the passing of the 18th Constitutional amendment, the right to issue any such licences rests with the provincial governments.
Wildlife campaigners on Thursday welcomed a decision by the Supreme Court to ban the hunting of a rare desert bird whose meat is prized among Arab sheikhs for being an aphrodisiac.
The Worldwide Union for Conservation of Nature consists of the houbara bustard on its record of the world’s most threatened endangered species, its “pink record”.
Justice Jawwad asked him if a dignitary was above the law. He questioned why the Arab royals were violating the law in Pakistan. In his remarks, the chief justice said that “These birds are our assets”.
The PTI-led Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government had already submitted its reply in the apex court stating that it had refused a request from the Foreign Office to issue permits to royals.
The Balochistan government had requested the court to allow hunting of endangered species under strict codes of conduct.
In November 2014, Balochistan High Court, cancelled the permits granted to foreigners, including Arab royals, for hunting rare birds. The court also had cancelled all allotments of areas to the royal families for hunting.
“The court has cancelled all the licenses and permits issued by the federal government to foreign nationals and locals”, said Raja Muhammad Farooq, a lawyer.
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The houbara bustard is listed in the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals, also known as the Bonn Convention.
