PPP lawmakers settle out of court in illegal hunting of rare deer

A case lodged by the Sindh Wildlife Department against three Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) lawmakers for the illegal hunting of five rare deer was rescinded on Tuesday after the accused paid Rs 250,000 in compensation.

The First Offence Report (FOR) against Members of National Assembly (MNA) Fakeer Sher Mohammad Bilalani from Thar, MNA Ghulam Mustafa Shah from Nawabshah and member of Sindh Assembly Sardar Ghaibi Khan Chandio from Larkana was quashed as the dispute of killing five deer was settled out of court.

Ashfaque Ahmed Memon, district game officer and complainant in the FOR, told Dawn the FOR had been compounded after the hunters compensated the wildlife department for the deer with Rs 250,000 or nearly Rs50,000 for each deer.

Memon said “the matter was resolved” between chief conservation officer Saeed Baloch and the defendants when MNA Bilalani, who hosted the hunting expedition, paid the fine as per Sindh Wildlife Department laws. Shoukat Hinjorjo, the honorary game warden of Thar confirmed the matter was settled as per the rules of the department.

The case was registered against the lawmakers last month when the killing of five rare Chinkara deer (Gazella Bennettii) in Nagarparkar brought condemnation from civil society and political figures alike. PML-N MNA Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani, PTI’s Haleem Adil Shaikh, and Arbab Ahsan demanded the complete inquiry be made public, alleging officials deliberately settled out of court to collect compensation and bribes from hunters instead of pursuing prosecution in court.

They deplored the hunting of the rare deer still ongoing in remote areas of the desert, adding another hunting party killed a deer in the Karoonjhar hills three days ago.