ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court will, on Thursday, begin hearing review petitions moved separately by the federal and provincial governments seeking reconsideration of the court’s decree which banned foreign dignitaries from hunting the vulnerable migratory bird houbara bustard.

A three-judge bench consisting of Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed and Justice Qazi Faez Isa will take up the petitions.

A Supreme Court bench headed by former chief justice Jawwad S. Khawaja had ordered the federal and provincial governments on Aug 19 not to grant licences or permits to hunt the endangered houbara bustard in future.

But a federal government review petition, moved on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, argued that this was a delicate matter that concerned the external affairs of Pakistan, saying that allowing foreign dignitaries to hunt the bird through falconry was a cornerstone of the country’s foreign policy.

The restrictions on hunting the bird were having a negative impact on Pakistan’s already weakened relations with the Gulf states in the wake of turmoil in the region, the review petition said.

The federal government had also reminded the court that the judiciary usually avoided interfering in the executive’s affairs.

It said falconry was not merely a sport for Arabs, but one of their most cherished customs, which was also recognised as an intangible cultural heritage by Unesco.

The review petition moved by the Punjab government, through Additional Advocate General Razzaq A. Mirza, also made similar contentions. It said the court had failed to take into account the fact that its decision affected an inter-provincial matter, and that the formulation and regulation of policies in this regard fell under the purview of the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

The Balochistan government contended that a large number of welfare projects aimed at improving the lives of the locals might be affected by preventing dignitaries from hunting the bird.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2015