Islamabad:

Pakistan's supreme court on Friday lifted a ban on the hunting of the Houbara bustard, an endangered migratory bird, whose meat is prized by elite Arab sheikhs for its aphrodisiac value.

The ban on the Houbara bustard, about the size of a chicken, was imposed by former chief justice Jawwad S Khawaja on August 20 last year; who also ordered the cancellation of all exiting permits by government to Arab rules. The federal and provincial governments in October had challenged the ban, pleading that sustainable hunting should be allowed.

The petitioners had pleaded to the SC that issuing permits for hunting of the endangered bird to Arab dignitaries was part of foreign policy

A five-member larger bench headed by chief justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali lifted the ban in a verdict on the review petitions, although the decision was not unanimous, with one dissenting note by justice Qazi Faez Isa, whoo opposed the bench' order.

The petitioners had pleaded that issuing hunting permits to Arab dignitaries was part of foreign policy. The atorney general Salman Buttasked the SC to allow "sustainable hunting" of the bird. Pakistan enjoys good ties with elite Arabs who love hunting Houbara using falcons and travel to Balochistan every winter to kill the bustard. The bird is listed in the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals and is declared as an endangered species.