ISLAMABAD: At least a thousand rare birds were returned, the smuggled birds including nightingales and baby parrots were taken under the permit for love birds and Australian parrots by government departments.
It is important to note that the export of nightingales and parrots is banned from Pakistan.
A recent scam surfaced in which the involvement of customs and wildlife department officials came to light and after being notified about the incident, Bahraini authorities stopped the smuggler and sent the shipment of rare birds back to Pakistan on March 8.
Reportedly several birds have died due to starvation and improper treatment.
The custom documents and invoice included permit for import of Australian parrots meanwhile the permit issued by the Climate Change Ministry was only for pigeons and lovebirds.
Saudi authorities also returned a similar shipment a few weeks back although, no inquiry has been conducted into the matter.
