ISLAMABAD: A hunting party of eight, including Arab nationals, were arrested while illegally hunting houbara bustard birds in the southwestern province of Baluchistan on Saturday, a Pakistan Forest Division official has told Arab News.
The official said that the hunting party’s vehicles were intercepted by the Baluch Levies, a paramilitary force of the province, at a check post in Nushki District near the porous Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Other reports said that Frontier Corps were manning the checkpoint not Baluch Levies. The vehicles were signaled to stop but ignored the order. The security force shot at the vehicles, reportedly injuring one person. No information was available about whether any of the Arab nationals were injured or if anyone from the convoy returned fire.
A military official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media, told Arab News: “Pakistani security forces on the weekend arrested three consulate officials” who were nationals of Qatar and Oman. “After interrogation, the Arab men were handed over to civilian authorities” in Quetta, he said. Officials hinted that influential people assisted in the immediate release of the Arab men.
The Qatar consulate in Karachi refused to provide names of its nationals when contacted. However, Arab News was able to see the identification and passport details of two Qatari nationals, Abdulaziz Saoud N.A. Al-Kuwari and Saoud Abdulrahman M.A. Al-Thani.
Reports citing an unnamed security official claimed three nationals from Qatar and one from Oman were detained.
Four natives, including Vice-Chairman Mohammed Khalil of District Council Nushki, suspected of hosting the hunting tour, remain in jail according to the Forest Division official. He did not know the whereabouts of the Arab men but said his senior officer had heavily fined the individuals for hunting the birds without permission and permits.
The houbara bustard is the official provincial bird of Baluchistan. According to official wildlife estimates, between 30,000 to 40,000 of the birds migrate to Pakistan annually for up to six months.
