Four Qatari princes arrested for illegal hunting in Pakistan

QUETTA - Four Qatari princes and three Pakistani have been arrested for illegally hunting rare bird species, Houbara bustard, in Balochistan, claimed a private news channel on Saturday.

Security forces raided an area in Naushki and arrested the persons when they were making arrangement for hunting the migratory bird.

During the raid, the officials also seized four trained falcons, which are used to hunt birds.

ARY News added that a person, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, received injuries after he attempted to resist.

There are also disputed media reports that the arrested Qatari princes were part of a 13-member delegation headed by former Qatari Emir Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, which reached Pakistan on Nov 29.

Hamad bin Jassim has been in the news as he submitted two letters to the Supreme Court of Pakistan during the hearing of Panama Papers case in favour of the Sharif family.

Qatari Prince Hamad bin Jassim jets off to Karachi after meeting Nawaz Sharif

Hamid bin Jasim called on Nawaz Sharif in Jati Umra and Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Model Town and discussed bilateral ties. After the crucial meetings, he along with his companions headed to Karachi.

On Nov 30, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has issued notices to the federal and Punjab governments for allegedly issuing permits to royal families of Gulf countries for hunting the Houbara bustard.

Houbara bustard is a rare species of migratory birds, which come from Central Asia in the winter to the arid plains of Pakistan. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has placed the bird on its ‘red list’ of threatened species. Its hunting is banned in Pakistan but the country issues special hunting permits to the dignitaries from the Middle East.