PESHAWAR:
The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Wildlife and Biodiversity Bill 2014 proposes reforms in a sector largely neglected for decades. The draft was tabled in the provincial assembly on November 24, and once passed, it will overwrite the Wildlife Act 1975.
K-P chief conservator Syed Mubarak Ali Shah told
The Express Tribune an up-to-date law is the need of the hour and the new draft resolves all loopholes in the previous legislation. According to Section 4 (1) of the bill, a copy of which lies with
The Express Tribune, the entire wildlife establishment, excluding ministerial staff, shall be deemed a “wildlife force and constituted in a prescribed manner”.
Shah confirmed the force will come under the wildlife department after the enactment of this law. He added the previous legislation dates back to 1975 and with the course of time has seen major challenges.
New musketeers
Members of the wildlife force will have their own uniform and will be provided with sophisticated equipment, arms and communication systems. Wildlife officers will be authorised to use force as and where they deem necessary seizing property, recovering wildlife, and producing, detaining or taking into custody any offender who acts against the protection, preservation, conservation and management guidelines, as laid down by the law.
The force will also be entitled to use force in intercepting, checking, apprehending, searching or preventing the escape of suspects.
However, they will only be allowed to use arms under necessary conditions of self-defence or in following directives of a superior not below the rank of a wildlife range officer.
Officers will also be able to bear testimony before the court within the listings of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
A comprehensive overhaul
Once the bill is approved, a K-P wildlife and biodiversity board will be formed. Headed by the chief minister, the board will also have a wildlife fund.
The law will provide for declaring and demarcating natural heritage sites with a view to protecting natural, physical, and biological formations that are of “outstanding national or global value from an aesthetic or scientific point of view”. The board will be able to declare and define any such area and regulate its management, autonomously.
The bill also entitles the government to declare any area it deems right to be a wildlife sanctuary, through a notification in the official gazette. Furthermore, the bill lays down participatory wildlife management guidelines wherein each protected area will be governed by a conservation committee.
Section 11 states that all wild animals, free ranging or captive, tamed or untamed found within the territorial jurisdiction of the province shall be the property of the government. In case of misuse or abuse of government property, wildlife officers shall be able to exercise powers under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1890.
These listings are seen as a major boost of the cause of preventing unwarranted poaching and preserving endangered species and the ecosystem.
Protection of species
The third schedule of the law contains a comprehensive list of animals that are to be protected. They can neither be hunted down nor taken captive. A violation will lead to criminal prosecution.
Lastly, the fourth schedule lays down the nature of offences and penalties.
It has set a sentence of three years and a fine of Rs45,000 for harming “Markhor, Urial, Ibex, Musk deer, Goral, Chinkara, Barking deer, Hog deer, black and brown bear and leopard. While a year in the slammer and Rs45,000 is the penalty for hunting the Siberian crane, Saker and Peregrine falcon.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2014.
King of the jungle: Armed force part of proposed legislation to guard wildlife – The Express Tribune
Meanwhile elsewhere in Pakistan:
KARACHI: The federal government has issued at least 29 special permits to royal family members of the Gulf states — the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and the Kingdom of Bahrain — for hunting the internationally protected houbara bustard in Pakistan, it emerged on Saturday.
Pakistan is a signatory to various international nature conservation agreements that call for protection of rare species and national laws also ban houbara bustard hunting, yet special permits are issued to foreigners in violation of local laws and international commitments.
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Sources said the government went back on the commitment it made last year that “Pakistan will observe a moratorium on hunting during the 2014-15 season to replenish houbara bustard stocks”.
The permit holders had even been informed about it. But after the approval of prime minister Nawaz Sharif, deputy chief of protocol of the foreign office Muazzam Ali issued the permits for the year 2014-15 on Nov 1, 2014.
The sources said that at least one president, one king, one Emir and one ruler besides two crown princes, the father and an uncle of country heads concerned are among those allowed to hunt the internationally protected houbara bustard, meat of which is considered to have aphrodisiac qualities.
The dignitary who has been given the largest area in the three provinces — Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan — is UAE president and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan. As many as 11 permits — the largest number of permits issued to a Gulf state — have been given to members of Qatar’s royal family.
This is the first time that an area in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been allocated for houbara hunting.
The federal government has not sent a code of conduct — which mentions number of birds to be hunted, hunting method, whether permit is person specific or not — to provincial wildlife departments, giving a free hand to the Arab sheikhs to hunt as many birds as they can.
Read: Arab royal hunts down 2,100 houbara bustards in three week safari
The move is perhaps aimed at avoiding an embarrassing situation like the one that happened last year when a Balochistan wildlife department report that Saudi prince Fahd had hunted 2,100 houbara bustards, violating the bag limit of 100 birds, created an international uproar after it had been highlighted in the media.
The countries and the names of hunters to whom the special permits have been issued are:
Saudi Arabia
Crown prince Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud has been allocated districts Dera Bugti, Dera Murad Jamali, Nasirabad; and Jaffarabad and Duki areas in Loralai district in Balochistan. In Punjab, he has been allowed to hunt in Vehari, Multan (tehsil Shujaabad), Mianwali and Sargodha districts.
Governor of Tabuk Prince Fahd bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, has been given Awaran and Noshki districts (less Noshki city), Chaghai district (excluding area in the northwest corner of Balochistan located in district Chaghai).
Abu Dhabi
UAE President and Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been given Sukkur, Ghotki, Nawabshah and Sanghar districts in Sindh; Rahim Yar Khan, Rajanpur, Dera Ghazi Khan and Chakwal districts in Punjab; and Zhob, Ormara, Pasni, Gawadar, Kharan (excluding Naag Dara breeding area), Panjgur and Washuk districts in Balochistan.
Deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces and crown prince of Abu Dhabi Gen Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been given Lehri tehsil in Sibi district (Domki area only).
Deputy prime minister of the UAE Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been given Khairpur district including Kot Diji (not across Nara Canal).
Ruler’s representative in the western region Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al-Nahyan has been given Khairpur Nathanshah tehsil in Dadu district, Gaibi Dero in Larkana, Shahdad Kot district, Khairpur (area across Nara canal), Juhi tehsil and Fareedabad union council in Dadu district. Lehri tehsil of Sibi district (minus Domki area) and Old Katchi and Sani Shoran area in Bolan district in Balochistan.
A member of the ruling family, Sheikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, has been given Qila Saifullah district including Kar Khurassan (less sub-division Muslim Bagh).
Dubai
Vice president and prime minister of the UAE and Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has been allocated Muzaffargarh district in Punjab; and Khuzdar and Lasbella districts and area in the northwest of Balochistan located in Chaghai district.
Deputy ruler of Dubai and finance minister Sheikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has been given Bahawalpur district and Fort Abbas tehsil of Bahawalnagar district in Punjab.
Deputy chief of police and general security Dubai and member of the ruling family Maj Gen Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum has been given Umerkot district, Tharparkar district including Mithi and Nagarparkar (minus protected area) in Sindh.
A member of the ruling family, Sheikh Rashid bin Khalifa Al-Maktoum, has been allowed to hunt in Badin district, Jungshahi in Thatta district and Dhabeji in Malir district in Sindh.
Nasir Abdullah Lootah, an employee of the Dubai government, has been given Thatta district excluding Shah Bander and Jung Shahi tehsils in Sindh.
Bahrain
King of Bahrain Sheikh Hamad bin Isa bin Salman Al-Khalifa has been allowed to hunt birds in Jamshoro district (Thano Bula Khan, Kotri, Manjhand and Sehwan tehsils).
An uncle of the king, Sheikh Ebrahim bin Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Khalifa, has been given Mastung in Balochistan.
The king’s adviser on defence affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Salman Al-Khalifa has been given Jati tehsil of Thatta district in Sindh.
Commander in chief of defence forces of Bahrain Marshal Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al-Khalifa has been given Toisar tehsil of Musakhel district in Balochistan.
A member of the ruling family, Sheikh Ahmed bin Ali Al-Khalifa, has been given Hyderabad district along with Matiari in Sindh. A member of the ruling family, Sheikh Mohammad bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, has been given Malir district excluding Malir cantonment and Dhabeji areas.
Qatar
Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani has been given Jacobabad district in Sindh and Khushab district in Punjab.
His father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has been allowed to hunt the protected houbara bustard in Bahawalnagar district excluding Fort Abbas tehsil in Punjab.
A brother of the Qatar Emir, Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al-Thani, has been given Musakhal and Drug tehsils of Musakhel district in Balochistan.
An uncle of the Qatar Emir, Sheikh Mohammad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has been given Loralai district (less Duki area) in Balochistan.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani has been given Bhakkar and Jhang districts in Punjab.
Former prime minister’s brother Sheikh Falah bin Jassim bin Jabor Al-Thani has been given Jhal Magsi district in Balochistan.
A member of the supreme council of the royal family, Sheikh Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani, has been given Turbat district in Balochistan.
Other royal family members Sheikh Khalid bin Thani Al-Thani has been given Layyah district in Punjab and Dadu city in Sindh; Sheikh Thani bin Abdul Aziz Al-Thani has been given Surab tehsil and Kalat district in Balochistan; Sheikh Mohammad bin Ali bin Abdullah Al-Thani has been given Kingri tehsil of Musakhel district and Barkhan district in Balochistan; and Sheikh Abdullah bin Ali Al-Thani has been given Dera Ismail Khan district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Published in Dawn, November 16th, 2014
29 permits issued to Gulf states royal families for houbara bustard hunting - Pakistan - DAWN.COM
As always, Hassan Nisar's predictions regarding these rigged, corrupt rulers of Pakistan came true. He predicted long ago that if they continue to remain in power, they will cut Pakistani national land in pieces and sell it off to foreign interests. Also, its worth noting that none of the foreign powers involved in destroying wildlife of Pakistan are from usual suspects; India, Israel and USA. Surprisingly they are from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain - our so-called "brother" Islamic States
When will Pakistani people collectively declare war against this rigged and traitorous federal government of Pakistan? I heard fast approaching 30 November 2014 is worth a shot!