Qatari royal’s hunting party attacked by Pakistani villagers

A houbara bustard flies during a falconry competition in Hameem, 150km west of Abu Dhabi, on December 9, 2014. Karim Sahib/AFP

QUETTA // A group of Pakistani villagers brandishing guns and knives attacked the convoy of a Qatar royal family member.

The party, which was on an expedition to hunt the houbara bustard, was unhurt but three security guards were wounded during the attack on Sunday evening in Musakhel in Baluchistan province, district deputy commissioner Muhammad Yasar said.

“A case has been registered against 25 people,” he added.

Police said the villagers turned violent after they were prevented from meeting the visiting royal to seek donations to build a mosque.

A Qatari official involved in falconry confirmed the attack by a large group of men on a convoy of hunters that included a royal family member. He declined to identify the individual, but said the party was safe.

“Qatari hunters apply and pay for government hunting permits and donate to local communities and wildlife conservation,” the official said. “Unfortunately there have been attacks led by armed groups.”

The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the bustard as a vulnerable species with a global population ranging from 50,000 to 100,000. It has almost vanished on the Arabian peninsula.

Last year, Pakistan’s supreme court lifted a ban on hunting the bird after the government argued it hurt relations with Gulf states whose hunters traditionally travel to Pakistan to pursue hunt the species with falcons.

The hunting parties have funded the building of roads, schools and mosques in places like Baluchistan and the province of Helmand in Afghanistan, while residents also benefit from the international-standard airstrips that can spring up.

New four-wheel-drive vehicles brought in for the hunt are sometimes left behind as gifts for regional leaders.

In December 2015, about 100 gunmen kidnapped at least 26 Qataris from a desert hunting camp in Iraq near the Saudi border. A member of Qatar’s ruling family was freed in April 2016, along with an accompanying Pakistani man.

* Reuters