The Sindh Wildlife Department on Friday accused the federal government of pressurizing it to allow a royal guest from Bahrain to hunt in the Thar region which “was a violation of Pakistan’s wildlife laws”.
It may be mentioned here the department had earlier expelled a Qatari hunting party, led by Sheikh Fahad Abdullah Abdul Rehman Al Thani, which hunted in the desert areas of Diplo and Nagarparkar districts, Thar, for a few days, before being asked to leave.
District Game Officer (DGO) for Thar Ashfaque Memon told Dawn that the royal entourage was hunting in the area without prior approval of the authorities concerned. Memon said that the group’s camps were dislodged and they were asked to leave the area while a First Offence Report (FOR) was registered against Barkatullah, a local who allegedly facilitated the royal hunters.
The official added that only UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has hunting allotment in Thar and he has not visited the area for past seven years.
“I am being pressured by the federal government to allow Bahrain’s Sheikh Ahmed Khalifa and his team to hunt rare bird species, including the houbara bustard in the area,” the official was quoted by Dawn as saying.
According to Memon, Sheikh Kalifa is expected to arrive in Thar during next two to three days.
