IPC moves to regulate foreign hunters: Concurrent List to go in July 2011, says minister

The federal government would abolish the Concurrent List in July 2011 to provide the provinces with enough time to prepare the relevant policies and infrastructure. This was stated by Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Pir Aftab Shah Jilani while talking to the media after the monthly meeting of Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Committee (IPC) at Sindh Assembly Saturday.
He said the IPC agreed to form a sub-committee to look into the violations of national and international laws by the foreign hunters of migratory birds. Agenda of the IPC meeting, which was chaired by Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Co-ordination Pir Aftab Shah Jilani, included the demand of the provinces, especially Punjab and Balochistan, for declaring hunting as a provincial subject, protection of the migratory birds, fishing rights at Wapda's lakes near Ghazi Barotha Dam and high power tariff for Khyber-Pukhtoonkhwa based Scarp tube wells and loadshedding in rural Sindh.
Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa, Makhdoom Jameeluz Zaman, Mian Iftikhar Hussain and Syeda Ruqayya Hashmi represented Punjab, Sindh, Pukhtoonkhwa and Balochistan respectively in the meeting. Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi attended the meeting as a special guest. Jilani told media that headed by the federal minister for environment the committee would comprise the provinces' Inter-Provincial Co-ordination ministers and would submit its recommendations on the issue within a month.
He said the provinces, especially Punjab and Balochistan, had showed reservations about the issuance of hunting license by the ministry of foreign affairs to the foreigners who, through an indiscriminate hunting of migratory birds like Houbara Bustard, were violating the local and international charters on birds hunting.
The committee would also suggest ways to get the relevant rules implemented effectively, he added. Another issue he said was the Pukhtunkhwah's demand for being given the authority over fishing rights in the Wapda's controlled lakes at Ghazi Barotha dam.
"We have agreed to accept the demand," Jilani said. According to IPC chairman, the meeting also took notice of the complaints of Sindh and Pukhtoonkhwa provinces about over-billing, loadshedding and high electricity tariff. But he said the issue would be discussed in the next meeting. To a question, the minister said the Concurrent List would be abolished in July 2011 so that the provinces could be given enough time to make preparations in terms of policy and infrastructure.