Commission on houbara bustard sustainability reconstituted

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Thursday reconstituted the commission to examine whether sustainability of houbara bustard was ensured while issuing hunting permits to Qatar royal family and others.

The chief justice on June 15 had constituted the commission under the chairmanship of Dr Pervez Hassan comprising of other members, including Punjab wildlife department, Houbara Foundation, petitioners, local residents, world wildlife organisation and non-government organisations.

The new members of the commission included the petitioners counsels Sheraz Zaka, Kalim Illyas, former vice-chancellor of Punjab University Khalid Hameed and environmentalist Afsar Mian.

The chief justice was hearing petitions against giving nod to Qatar royal family and others for hunting internationally protected houbara bustard and other migrated birds and had constituted a commission.

The chief justice had given a month time to the commission to submit its report.The petitioners had filed applications requesting to reconstitute the commission and include the names of their counsel Sheraz Zaka and Kalim Illyas in it. The law officer of the Punjab government while opposing this application said that the inclusion of new members would cause distortion or disruption in the commission proceedings and would affect the impartiality.

The chief justice accepted these applications and allowed inclusion of new persons in the commission and ordered for submission of commission report until January 2018.Earlier, during the hearing of this application on Thursday, commission chairman Dr Pervez Hassan appeared and informed that first of all survey would be conducted where the hunting permits had been granted in areas of Jhang and Bhakkar. He also said that by the end of January and February the commission would conclude its proceedings and the residents of areas where hunting permits were granted as well as the local parliamentarians would also be invited to attend the public hearing.

In the main case, the petitioner counsel Sheraz Zaka had said that the Supreme Court had already given its observation that while giving permits in a particular area it must also be taken into consideration what steps have been taken by the licensee to economically
develop the areas where permits have been issued to hunt houbara bustard. He also said that the decision making of foreign affairs must be seen that how the permits were issued without any specification from ministry of climate change.

He submitted that in exchange an undertaking was given to the governments of developing countries that economic development would take place in those areas where exploration of resources and licensing permits of hunting is granted. He submitted that it was unfortunate that in Jhang and Bhakkar no economic development had taken place despite the fact that Supreme Court had already issued directions that economic development of those areas would take place where hunting permits are given.

Another petitioner’s counsel Sardar Kaleem Ilyas alleged that permits for hunting were issued prior to the approval by the cabinet. He said that the cabinet’s decision could not be implemented retrospectively.

He said that the permission for hunting houbara bustard was amounted to killing them at all. He alleged that the government violated several international laws by awarding the hunting permits to Qatari princes. He said that the government had issued the permits without the approval of cabinet, a mandatory act under the law.

Social workers Naeem Sadiq and Faryal Ali Gohar had moved the petitions for protection of houbara bustard and challenging permits given to foreign dignitaries, including Qatar royal family to hunt internationally protected bird.