Wildlife dept restricts Qataris from hunting in Tharparkar

According to the official, the region's wildlife is well protected

HYDERABAD: Qatari royal Fahad Abdul Rahman H Al Thani's hunting trip seems to have wound down before it even started after he was denied permission to hunt endangered Houbara bustards in Tharparkar on February 5.

Qatar hunters driven out of Sindh. PHOTO: EXPRESS TRIBUNE

The Qatari royal and his party had planned to stay until February 28, according to a letter issued to the Sindh protocol director general and the Sindh Rangers director general by the foreign office on February 1.



"The foreign office had only requested security during their visit to see Tharparkar's wildlife. They were not allowed to hunt." District Wildlife Officer Ashfaque Memon told The Express Tribune. "Local people are very fond of the birds. They don't like the idea of anyone killing them."

Qatar hunters driven out of Sindh. PHOTO: EXPRESS TRIBUNE

Memon added that wildlife in the region is well protected.

Another wildlife official said that about 20 people accompanying the royals drove to Jat Tarai Village in Deeplo Taluko on February 5 and set up seven tents.

Qatar hunters driven out of Sindh. PHOTO: EXPRESS TRIBUNE

"They spent the whole day and night in the camps. We also saw that they had seven or eight falcons," the official claimed.



Houbara bustards are a rare species of birds migrating from central Asia in winters to arid planes of Pakistan. The birds have been placed on the 'red list' of endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Although hunting is banned, the Pakistan government regularly issues special hunting permits to dignitaries from the Middle East, terming it a "pillar of our foreign policy".