Pakistani province regulates falconry ahead of Arab hunting expeditions next month

A Pakistani man prepares to release falcons at a bird sanctuary on the outskirts of Karachi on January 24, 2013. (AFP)
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Updated 27 November 2020
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Pakistani province regulates falconry ahead of Arab hunting expeditions next month

  • Every winter, thousands of the houbara bustard migrate from Central Asia to Pakistani deserts in the southern Sindh province
  • Pakistani officials say the new law will boost diplomatic relations with Gulf states and set better hunting precedents 

KARACHI: With the annual hunting season for the houbara bustard bird beginning in Pakistan next month, the country’s southern Sindh province has moved to regulate the practice of falconry, including that hunting parties that arrive mostly from Arab states pay $100,000 to hunt 100 of the rare desert birds over a ten-day period.
Every winter, thousands of the houbara bustard migrate from Central Asia to the warmth of Pakistani deserts in Sindh province. Their arrival sets off another migration, with scores of wealthy Gulf Arabs descending on Pakistan for falconry, the practice of hunting wild animals in their natural state or habitat, with the help of a trained bird of prey. Local communities also benefit from the hobby, the government argues, with hunters channeling cash — via hunting permit fees and jobs — into remote corners of the country where the bird is found.
In September this year, Sindh passed a new law, the Sindh Wildlife Protection, Preservation, Conservation and Management Act of 2020, to boost falconry and discourage “harmful” hunting practices, including banning hunting during the breeding season.
“Previously, there was no code of conduct explained in the old law; however, in the new law it is fully explained,” Javed Mahar, the conservator at the Sindh Wildlife Department, told Arab News.
Under the new law, a foreign dignitary or his state would be required to file a hunting permit request with the Pakistani foreign office, which would then be forwarded to the wildlife department.
The provincial wildlife department would issue hunting permits to foreign dignitaries only on the request of the ministry of foreign affairs, Mahar added: “A foreign hunting party will pay $100,000 for hunting 100 houbara bustards in ten days’ time.”
“Request is received by Government in writing, from dignitary or his State or forwarded through Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Pakistan,” the new law reads.
The foreign office did not respond to repeated requests for comment.




Wildlife officials release a falcon in Peshawar on October 23, 2019. (AFP/File)

In 2015, the Supreme Court placed a ban on hunting the houbara bustard. The government at the time, of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, asked the court to review the ban because it was damaging Pakistan’s relations with Gulf states, key investors in the country. It argued that sustainable hunting of the bustard was the best means of conservation.
The court lifted the ban in 2016.
But conservationists say the bird is at risk of extinction if hunting continues.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the bustard as a vulnerable species with a global population of between 50,000 and 100,000. It has almost vanished on the Arabian peninsula.
But Pakistani officials say the new law will both boost diplomatic relations with Gulf states and set better hunting precedents.
“This healthy practice will help in boosting diplomatic relations,” Pakistan Falconry Association president Kamran Khan Yousafzai said. “It is good that falconry has been regulated in Sindh,” he added, saying the new regulations would help uplift local communities and conservation efforts.
“The pattern can be derived from markhor trophy hunting which diverts 70 percent of its earnings to uplift local communities and conservation whereas only 30 percent goes to the government,” he said, referring to hunting licenses auctioned each year for the rare long-horned goat native to Pakistan.
But the World Wide Fund Pakistan said hunting permits for the vulnerable houbara bustard should only be issued based on population viability confirmed through credible research.
“Global population of threatened Asian houbara bustard is continuously declining mainly due to poaching, hunting and habitat degradation,” Muhammad Jamshed Chaudhry, WWF Pakistan senior manager for research and conservation, said. “Without taking stringent measures to control these, new regulation law may not demonstrate any benefits to the species and communities.”


Pakistan, China to form joint security strategy following attack on Chinese workers in Karachi

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Pakistan, China to form joint security strategy following attack on Chinese workers in Karachi

  • Mohsin Naqvi says ensuring the safety of Chinese citizens and projects is Pakistan’s top priority
  • Chinese envoy maintains Beijing is ready to enhance bilateral security cooperation with Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and China agreed on Thursday to develop a joint security strategy, following an incident where two Chinese nationals suffered gunshot wounds in an attack by a security guard at a factory in Karachi, an official statement said.
Thousands of Chinese nationals work in Pakistan, primarily as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a multibillion-dollar energy, infrastructure development and regional connectivity initiative.
Chinese workers have increasingly come under attack in Pakistan in recent years, with notable incidents including a suicide bombing in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that killed five Chinese engineers in March 2024 and an October blast near Karachi’s airport that left two other Chinese nationals dead.
The latest shooting occurred earlier this week, when a Pakistani security guard opened fire at a factory in Karachi, wounding two Chinese employees.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi met with Chinese Ambassador Jiang Zaidong to discuss the situation and Pakistan’s response to the rising security risks faced by Chinese nationals.
“We fully agree with China’s vision of integrating development and security,” he was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office after the meeting. “Ensuring the safety of Chinese citizens and projects is our top priority. Those involved in the incident will be brought to justice.”
The interior ministry informed the two officials “agreed to develop a joint strategy to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Ambassador Jiang also underscored the need for a stable environment for ongoing bilateral cooperation and expressed his country’s readiness to strengthen bilateral security ties.
“China is ready to enhance bilateral security cooperation and build the capacities of Pakistani institutions,” he said.
Attacks on Chinese nationals have put the bilateral relations between both states under increasing stress, with the Chinese envoy previously calling such incidents “unacceptable” publicly.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif personally visited the Chinese embassy in Islamabad on Wednesday to offer sympathies to the families of the Chinese who got injured in the recent shooting incident.
Pakistan and China have been discussing to upgrade CPEC in recent months, hoping to launch yet another phase marked by enhanced business-to-business relationships and further Chinese investment in the country.


Pakistani wife of jailed Kashmiri leader urges Indian politician to debate husband’s imprisonment

Updated 54 min 55 sec ago
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Pakistani wife of jailed Kashmiri leader urges Indian politician to debate husband’s imprisonment

  • Mushaal Mullick tells Rahul Gandhi her husband gave up arms to pursue a non-violent freedom struggle
  • Indian authorities are seeking death sentence for Yasin Malik on the basis of a ‘three-decades-old’ case

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani wife of a prominent Kashmiri leader in Indian-administered side of the Himalayan territory wrote Wednesday to opposition leader Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, urging him to initiate a parliamentary debate on her husband’s incarceration following his hunger strike at the beginning of this month.
Mushaal Hussein Mullick, former assistant on human rights and women’s empowerment in Pakistan’s last caretaker administration, is married to Yasin Malik, leader of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), who, along with other activists, was incarcerated after India revoked Kashmir’s special constitutional status in August 2019.
She said the Indian authorities had filed a case against him on the basis of a “three-decades-old sedition case” in which they were demanding death sentence for him.
The letter noted this was despite the fact that her husband had long given up arms to fight for freedom struggle, following the path of non-violence which was highlighted by several high-profile Indian officials and journalists themselves.
“I request you to bring to use your high moral and political influence in the Parliament and to initiate a debate in the case of Yasin Malik, who could become an instrument for bringing organic and not cosmetic peace back to the Jammu & Kashmir — paradise on earth,” she wrote.
Mullick said her husband “stood by his end of the bargain,” though the same thing “cannot be said for the Indian state” that did not pay attention to his pleas and “victimized” him under the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Her letter to the Indian opposition leader follows the recent elections in Indian-administered Kashmir in which Gandhi’s allies displayed a good performance while the BJP could not make any impressive electoral gains.
The government in New Delhi has, however, used the polls to suggest that the situation in Kashmir is gradually improving, though the large number of the people of the area have long opposed the Indian rule.
 


Pakistan signals cooperation with new US administration, raises concerns over Middle East wars

Updated 45 min 33 sec ago
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Pakistan signals cooperation with new US administration, raises concerns over Middle East wars

  • Donald Trump has won the second term as president, nearly four years after he left the top US office
  • Pakistan’s defense minister rules out the new American president will call for the release of ex-PM Khan

ISLAMABAD: Federal Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said Wednesday Pakistan would collaborate with the new US administration where interests aligned but cautioned that cooperation could be strained if interests diverged or Washington persisted in supporting wars in the Middle East.

Asif made the statement following the election of Republican candidate Donald Trump as US president for a second term, nearly four years after he left office. Hours later, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was running against Trump, conceded defeat, acknowledging the election result was not what Democrats had hoped for but pledging a peaceful transfer of power.

Trump is widely regarded as an unpredictable leader, with analysts worldwide assessing the potential impact of his return to the top US office on global affairs. However, the Pakistani defense minister praised him during Geo TV’s special election transmission for promising to end conflicts around the world after assuming power in Washington.

“Where our interests and those of the United States converge, we will definitely work together,” he said while responding to a question. “However, where there’s a clash between our interests and those of the United States, we’ll try to find a way to avoid conflict.”

The minister said things could get challenging if there was a direct clash of interests and no way out, as he specifically mentioned the conflicts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
“If these wars persist, if this atmosphere of destruction remains, with cities being devastated and the United States backing this, then it will be an environment in which cooperation will be difficult,” he continued.

Responding to a question about the impact of Trump’s election on Pakistan’s domestic politics, he said the government believed that the new US president would not call for the release of former prime minister of the country Imran Khan who has been in prison for over a year on multiple charges.

Members of Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party widely expressed hope on social media platforms that Trump’s election could lead to the release of their leader from prison, saying Khan enjoyed a good relationship with the US president-elect.

The former premier also congratulated Trump in a social media post, saying his presence in the top US office would be good for the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Asif noted during the special television transmission that government always prepared themselves for local and international contingencies, adding: “No one [in the US] will want to go on bad terms with Pakistan for the sake of a single individual.”


Citizen-run free Kitab Ghar rekindles fading library culture in Pakistan’s Karachi

Updated 52 min 7 sec ago
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Citizen-run free Kitab Ghar rekindles fading library culture in Pakistan’s Karachi

  • Facility that opened last month is sister concern of Kitab Ghar Lahore, launched in 2021
  • In coming weeks, library has organized events on a range of topics from politics to art

KARACHI: In a quiet, old bungalow near the Sindhi Muslim Food Street and the famed Zahid Nihari restaurant on Tariq Road, a new space in Karachi offers a rare kind of nourishment: a feast for the mind. 

Launched last month, the citizen-run free Kitab Ghar Karachi is more than just a library but aims to inspire people, especially young curious minds to read, think critically, and engage in intellectual conversations, cultivating creativity and renewing the exchange of ideas in a country where such spaces are quietly disappearing.

Kitab Ghar seeks to revive a library culture that was vibrant until the 1990s, when book houses in places like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad drew students, writers and literary enthusiasts, particularly during the dynamic literary decades of the 1970s and 1980s.

Before the digital era, libraries were among the few trusted sources for books, research and periodicals but the spread of online resources and the Pakistani state’s limited prioritization of these intellectual sanctuaries have gradually led to a decline.

“We want people to come to the library and start that [reading] culture again in Pakistan,” Areeba Fatima, one of the co-founders of the free library, told Arab News.

Co-founder of Kitab Ghar, Areeba Fatima (center), poses for a picture with her colleagues at the library in Karachi, Pakistan, on October 19, 2024 (Areeba Fatima)

Beyond providing a serene reading environment, she said, Kitab Ghar Karachi wanted to cultivate a community of thinkers and doers by hosting regular events and discussions on a range of topics, from politics to art.

“We want to foster, nourish and develop communities of people who being at a public library enjoy interacting,” Fatima added. 

Karachi’s Kitab Ghar is the sister library of one in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore, launched in 2021, and the brainchild of Fatima’s friend Zara Suhail Mannan, who completed four years of education at Yale University and came back with the concept of combining reading with community development.

The picture taken on November 4, 2024, shows a board reading "By The People, For the People" at the gate of Kitab Ghar in Karachi, Pakistan. (AN photo)

“She thought that we were going to set up a public library and community space together, which made a lot of sense to me,” Fatima, who was then a student at Lahore University of Management Sciences, recalled.

With the help of a third friend, Airas Qadir, Mannan and Fatima started collaborating with civil society organizations, and finally Mannan rented a space for Kitab Ghar in Lahore, where readers come to read books and where regular events are held. That model is now being replicated in the southern port city of Karachi, where the library was launched on Oct. 19.

“When we all found ourselves in Karachi, we decided to open Kitab Ghar Karachi,” said Fatima. 

Like the Lahore space, the library in Karachi is also funded by patrons who each donate between $18 and $90 per month.

Muazzam Ali Tahir, a patron, and regular visitor who recently moved from Islamabad to Karachi for work, said he was looking for a place where he could both read and work.

“When I was studying abroad, libraries were like a key place where people could go,” he said. “People could also hang out, work and collaborate with each other.” 

Muazzam Ali Tahir is reading a book at Kitab Ghar Library in Karachi, Pakistan, on November 4, 2024 (AN photo)

Javeria Naeem, 20, who runs a fashion business, is also a regular visitor.

“I’ve always loved Kitab Ghar Lahore, so I was thrilled about its Karachi chapter,” she said, adding that other libraries she visited often lacked a “sense of community.”

“It’s not an isolated, boring place with just books like most libraries,” she added. “It’s lively and makes you feel great.”

The picure taken on November 4, 2024, shows a map in the library in Karachi, Pakistan. (AN photo)

Syed Abdur Raffay Shah, 19, an artist and designer, said he was a regular visitor of the place, describing Kitab Ghar as a “unique experience.”

“I used to spend over 12 hours in libraries just studying and relaxing, but this one stands out with its welcoming atmosphere,” he said. “It has a special communal feel, as if everyone here is contributing to restoring Pakistan’s educational landscape.”

The library has several events planned in the coming weeks.

“We can generate a conversation on blasphemy or feminism or other topics which are very significant, so that is what we are trying to do,” Fatima, the co-founder, said, adding that the “mission” that began in Lahore would continue beyond Karachi.

“We will make more Kitab Ghar libraries in different cities of the country as we aim to create a Pakistan where people read, think and discuss, where people are politically mature and where they matter the most.” 


Saudi Arabia crown prince holds power to lead Palestine peace efforts — Pakistan Ulama Council

Updated 07 November 2024
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Saudi Arabia crown prince holds power to lead Palestine peace efforts — Pakistan Ulama Council

  • Saudi Arabia to host Arab-Islamic summit on Nov. 11 to discuss Israel’s military aggression in Gaza and Lebanon
  • Saudi crown prince’s image as ambassador of peace recognized by Europe, US and Islamic world, Tahir Ashrafi says

ISLAMABAD: The power to lead peace efforts in Palestine rests with the Saudi crown prince, the Pakistan Ulema Council said on Wednesday, as Muslim countries gear up to discuss the Middle East unrest at the Arab-Islamic summit.

Since October last year, Israel has killed over 45,000 Palestinians in its air and ground attacks on Gaza. Last month, it also invaded Lebanon, killing 3,000 people since.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly condemned Israel’s attacks and on Nov. 11 will hold the extraordinary Arab–Islamic summit between the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to address the situation.

“The power to lead peace efforts and address this issue rests solely with Mohammed bin Salman, no one else holds this level of influence,” PUC chairman Tahir Ashrafi told Arab News.

“He is the center of the Muslim [world], due to the Two Holy Mosques and he is the head of the OIC.”

The PUC head said that the Saudi crown prince’s image as an ambassador of peace was recognized worldwide, as he recalled his successful mediation efforts in 2022, which led to the release of prisoners from various countries as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine.

“The role of Saudi Arabia and Ameer Mohammed bin Salman as an ambassador of peace is acceptable to Europe, the Islamic world, the UK and the US,” Ashrafi said.

“His vision is very clear, and the vision is a two-state solution.”

Ashrafi was hopeful that next week’s summit would lead to a solution to the Palestine crisis.

“It is hoped that a suggestion or solution will be presented there that will help the world overcome the current situation,” he said.

“If the whole Muslim world and some European countries accept the Palestinian state and appoint their ambassadors, it will be a big step and it will give a lot of strength to the oppressed Palestinians and to the solution to this issue.”