Police won’t allow hunting of wild birds

HERAT CITY (PAN.

Provincial police spokesman Col. Abdul Rauf Ahmadi told Pajhwok Afghan News the decree had been dispatched to all police headquarters across the province and the forces directed to strictly implement it.

The explanation comes a day after some media reports and Facebook users said former water and energy minister Ismail Khan had invited some members of the Qatari royal family to hunt birds in Herat.

Khan, who is contesting the April presidential elections as one of Abdul Rab Rassoul’s running mates, has not yet responded to the reports.

The police spokesman said there would be no problem in hunting birds in case of permission from the government. Police had not been contacted in this regard as yet, he explained.

The hawk, deer, wild birds and some wolves are common in deserts and mountainous areas of Herat and Arab sheikhs like hunting them.

Former director of the Herat Environment Protection Agency, Abdul Qayum Afghan, said he would repeatedly ask security organs to prevent hunting wild birds and animals.

He said he remained concerned about some endangered species, saying they could become extinct if ignored.

There were reports last year that some Qatar royal family members and traders had visited Kandahar province for hunting.

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