GWADAR: Eleven members of royal family of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) arrived in Panjgur area of Makran division on Saturday to hunt houbara bustards, according to sources.

The official sources said members of the UAE’s royal family reached Panjgur airport aboard a special plane and were led by Shaikh Khalifa Saif-al-Nahyan and Sultan Saeed Ahmed. They were taken to their palace in Piry Jhalak by road amid tight security.

The delegation was received at the airport by Panjgur’s Deputy Commissioner Abdul Razzaq Sasoli, tribal elders Haji Attaullah Baloch, Haji Zahid Hussain, Haji Farooq-uz-Zaman and senior military and civilian officials.

The hunting party, equipped with hunting gear and falcons, would hunt houbara bustards during their stay in Panjgur under licence issued by the foreign ministry, the sources said.

Members of the UAE royal family, who visit Panjgur regularly for hunting the bird, have launched several development projects in the district, including water supply schemes and health facilities for deserving and underprivileged people of Panjgur town.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2021