QUETTA-
The Balochistan High Court (BHC) issued orders to cancel the allotment of area to Arabs and other foreigners for hunting birds, including the rare houbara bustard in the provice, private media reported on Friday.
The BHC bench, comprising of Justice Jamal Mandokhail and Justice Ejaz Swati, gave the ruling over two petitions which challenged hunting by royals from Gulf Countries in Balochistan, delcaring hunting houbara bustard and other wild birds ‘illegal.’
The bench issued issued to the Wild Life Department, Federal Interior Ministry and Chief Secretary of Balochistan Saifullah Chattha, seeking report over what steps have been taken for protecting the rare birds in Balochistan.
In hunting season, royal families from the Gulf countries head to Balochistan to hunt Houbara Bustard birds who use Balochistan as a transit route while they migrate to warmer climates in central and south Asia.
Royal families from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain are allocated hunting areas in Balochistan every year and are provided with permits and tight security by the authorities.
Pakistan is the only country which has allowed hunting the rare birds otherwise protected internationally.
In April 2014 this year, a report by an officer of the Balochistan forest and wildlife department in Dalbandin revealed that Saudi Prince Fahd bin Sultan and others in his party killed 2,100 birds during a three-week vacation in the Chagai district in January.