Skip to main content

SC disallows import of elephants for zoo

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a plea seeking an approval for import of African elephants for a zoological garden in Peshawar. A three-judge SC bench comprising Justice Ijazul Ahsan, Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Shahid Wahid dismissed the plea. During the hearing, Deputy Attorney General Raja Shafqat Abbasi, through a concise statement, cited a July 24, 2020 meeting of the CITES (Conve­ntion on International Trade in Endan­gered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Management Authority, in which it was held that zoo cannot provide an environment conducive to survival of the wild African elephants. The court had taken up an appeal moved by a firm challenging the Sept 17, 2020 order of the Peshawar High Court, which had also dismissed the case. Filed through Advocate Niaz Wali Khan, the petitioner argued it had already purchased two elephants from the Zimbabwe government, besides bearing the cost of their food and upkeep, but was being denied permission to import them for the Peshawar Zoo. The DAG recalled how the Ministry of Climate Change was earlier directed by the PHC to convene a meeting of the CITES Management Authority of Pakistan during the first round of litigation under Section 15 of the Pakistan Trade Control of Wild Fauna and Flora Act 2012 to assess whether the Peshawar Zoo was suitably equipped to house and care for elephants. In compliance with the directive, a meeting was held on July 24, 2020 in which it was concluded that the zoo could not provide the required environment. The petition, however, claimed that officials of the Zimbabwe Part Wildlife Department visited the Peshawar zoo, thoroughly inspected the site and found it conducive and favourable for the elephants. Earlier in 2020, the Islamabad High Court had ordered relocation of Kaavan, an elephant, from Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo due to the poor state of the facility. Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2023
http://dlvr.it/SnlQnL

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Student council oath-taking ceremony

Islamabad:The Millennium College hosted a Student Council Investiture Ceremony 2019 at its Flagship Campus, I-9/3, says a press release.The student council comprising of AS & A Level, IBDP program and IGCSE’s vowed under oath that they will be active and responsible members of the student executive council and will abide by the laws made by the college and the managing body to guarantee themselves and the student body a better campus life.Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi graced the occasion and inducted the School’s Head Boy Sarosh Atif and Head Girl Qirrat Ali as well as the Executive Council Members of all clubs and societies established within the school system. After administering the oath, Ambassador Ali Sarwar Naqvi along with the Founder & Chairman The Millennium Education Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, Director International Qualifications Azra Tahir and Principal of Millennium College, Campus I-9/3, Muneeze Muzzafar awarded sashes, badges and certificates to the members of the co...

Pragmatic steps taken to implement Axle Load Control regime on NH&MP

Islamabad: Ministry of Communications has taken pragmatic steps to implement the Axle Load Control regime on Motorways & National Highways in the country. Sole objective of this move is to control travelling of overloaded vehicles which lead to fatal accidents besides damaging the national asset of road network of billions of rupees.Prior to implementation of axle load control regime, a technical committee was formed, consisting of officers from Ministry of Communications and National Highway Authority which remained in constant contacts with transport community, Members of the Chambers of Commerce and stakeholders hailing from all the provinces. This technical committee visited their offices and held detailed discussions in series of meetings and took them into confidence to facilitate implementation of Axle Load Control regime. The stakeholders assured of their full cooperation and subsequently, implementation of Axle Load Control was realized which is in progress.It is worth to ...

UN awards 2 Pakistani female peacekeepers for gender advocacy

The United Nations has awarded two Pakistani female peacekeepers with the Gender Advocacy Award for their “outstanding performance”, a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said. In a statement issued on Thursday, the ISPR said the awards were presented to Major Sania Safdar, part of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Cyprus, and Major Komal Masood, who served in the Central African Republic, “for their outstanding performance and commitment in promoting the ideals of UN”. The accolades were presented by the under-secretary general in the UN’s Department for Peace Operations at its New York headquarters. “While serving in [an] international environment, both officers demonstrated exceptional professionalism [and] dedication,” the ISPR noted. It added that the two peacekeepers “made [a] significant contribution to Mission’s Peace and Stability efforts, especially with regards to advancing women’s meaningful participation in Peacekeeping Operations within the ...