Archived press release

Premier oil in row over 'loophole' in pakistani wildlife law

5 September 2001

Premier Oil this morning tried to convince a Karachi court to throw out a legal challenge that had been brought by Pakistani environmental groups and Friends of the Earth International over the company's plans to explore for gas in Kirthar National Park. The British company argued that the relevant wildlife laws have been dramatically weakened during the court's summer recess, and that the environmental petition was no longer relevant. But local environmentalists have questioned whether Premier Oil were behind the sudden legal amendment made by the Pakistani military authorities. The court room drama comes a day after the London meeting of the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group “expressed concern over the continuation of non-democratic government in Pakistan” [1].

Kirthar National Park is one of Pakistan's largest protected areas, stretching over 3,087 square kilometres of rugged mountain desert in the southern province of Sindh. It is home to numerous threatened species such as the unique Sindh ibex (a mountain goat) and the Urial sheep, and to desert wolves, striped hyena, golden jackal,"Chinkara" (a type of gazelle), and no less than eight species of eagle. It is also considered essential for the water supply of the 14 million people in nearby Karachi.

At the start of this year, Kirthar still enjoyed strict protection under Pakistan's wildlife laws.Section 15 of the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance clearly prohibited the "...clearing or breaking up of any land for cultivation, mining or for any other purpose" in the park.

Undeterred, Premier submitted their gas exploration plans, in the form of an Environmental Impact Assessment (or EIA). Local NGOs quickly challenged this EIA in the Karachi courts, but in written evidence submitted to the court, Premier sought to play down environmental fears by citing examples of where the oil and gas industry had, it claimed, operated in "harmonious coexistence" and "perfect harmony" with the environment [2].

In response, Friends of the Earth International, the world's largest environmental network,submitted a 380-page dossier of evidence to the contrary, including a detailed synopsis of the

appalling environmental and human rights abuses associated with the industry in Nigeria.

But, while waiting for the case to be heard, the relevant laws were amended. Under the current military regime in Pakistan, key Government officials can amend legislation without reference to Parliament. In June, the Governor of Sindh province, Mohammed Mian Soomro - a director of an oil company until he became governor last year - amended the relevant wildlife law so that it would not apply:

"...to any activity in a national park in connection with the exploration or production of oil and gas which is undertaken in accordance with an environmental impact assessment". [3]

In court earlier today, Premier oil's lawyers argued that the petition submitted by NGOs(including FOE) should now be thrown out. Counsel for the Federal and Provincial governments then requested time to consider what impact the legal amendment had on the case - which surprised many observers since it was the Provincial Government that had amended the law.

Counsel for the petitioning environmental groups argued that, either way, the amendment didn't affect the main plea made the petitioners: the cancellation of Premier Oil's licence to explore gas from Kirthar National Park.The court has now adjourned the matter to 19 September, 2001.

Earlier in the week, Friends of the Earth supporters deluged Charles Jamieson, Chief Executive of Premier Oil with emails protesting at the company's activities in Pakistan. Jamieson astonished campaigners with his reply, in which he argued that: “The oil industry has been a leader in contributing to the communities and environment in which it operates by sensitive and safe development of oil and gas fields and community and environmental programmes”.

Friends of the Earth's Corporate Campaigner, Craig Bennett said:

“The arrogance of Premier Oil is breathtaking. It claims to care about communities and the environment, yet it goes to court to try and exploit a new legal loophole which threatens a precious national park. Premier must fully explain what role it has played in the watering down of this important wildlife law.

“Commonwealth Ministers should not only be expressing their concern about non-democratic government in Pakistan. They should also be investigating British companies like Premier Oil for riding roughshod over people and the environment”.

Photos of Kirthar National Park are available on request.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust