SC lifts ban on hunting of Houbara Bustard

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday lifted ban on hunting migrating birds Houbara Bustard in Pakistan.

The apex court announced the verdict reserved on January 08, on review petitions filed by the Federation and provinces of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan against its judgment banning the hunting of migrating birds Houbara bustard.

The Supreme Court had imposed ban on hunting of the bird on August 19 last year.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, after hearing the arguments of the attorney general, law officers of the three provinces and Farooq H Naek, representing the Sindh government, had reserved the judgment on Jan 08.

In the review petitions, filed by the Federation and three provinces, the law officers of the respective provinces, while arguing before the larger bench, contended that law of their respective provinces allows conditional hunting of Houbara bustard and for this purpose a code of conduct had been given.