The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government is on the offensive as regards wildlife conservation and has launched a crackdown on illegal hunting and smuggling of rare birds as Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chairman Imran Khan was filmed releasing Saker falcons earlier today.
In a video released on Twitter, the PTI chairman is seen releasing the endangered birds, initially with some difficulty, which were prevented from being smuggled to Karachi from Peshawar on Sunday.
The PTI chairman released the falcons as K-P Chief Minister Pervez Khattak, Jahangir Tareen and other PTI leaders look on.
Someone said, “Birds just keep clinging to Immy Bhai, no matter how much he tries to get rid of them.”
At least two Saker falcons were prevented from being smuggled to Karachi from the city on Sunday. “The birds were netted in Afghanistan and were then smuggled to Peshawar,” Wildlife Sub-divisional Forest Officer Sardar said .
“The owner was trying to transport the falcons to Karachi where buyers from Gulf countries gather to buy these illegally netted birds of prey.” He added the pair seized is worth at least Rs6 million and was found in a house in Ittehad Colony in the city. “The smuggler has been arrested.”
Peshawar is considered the biggest black market of Saker falcons in the world; they are falcons mainly used in Arab falconry.
