GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan police chief Mohammad Saeed Wazir has constituted a committee under SP Hunza for investigating the illegal hunting of an Himalayan ibex allegedly by three officials of the Khunjerab Security Force (KSF) so departmental action could be initiated against them.

The three KSF officials allegedly hunted ibex in Shishkatar area in Khunjerab National Park in upper Hunza on Sunday.

The postmortem report of the hunted ibex confirmed the animal had been gun shot.

GB forest and wildlife department officials, the hunted ibex had 40-inch horns, adding the accused had fled from the scene.

Wildlife personnel took the body of ibex into custody and sent it to animal husbandry hospital in Aliabad for legal procedure.

DFO wildlife Jibran Haider told Dawn that the postmortem report confirmed the Himalayan ibex had been shot with a gun.

He said the department had registered a case against the accused – Inspector Syed Abrar, Sepoys Abbas Ali, Ali Abbas and a driver – under Wildlife Conservation Act.

Mr Haider said the accused had been summoned to record their statements, adding after completion of legal procedure, people found involved in the illegal hunting would be punished as per the law.

Mr Haider said so far 16 Himalayan ibexes and two blue sheep had been hunted in Hunza by local and foreign hungers after obtaining permits from the wildlife department under trophy hunting programme 2021-22.

Published in Dawn, January 4th , 2022