Pakistani bureaucrat hunts endangered birds — triggers social media storm

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In a complete disregard to the Wildlife Acts, the son of a Pakistani senator of Imran Khan’s  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has killed a score of endangered birds in one day. The son happens to be the commissioner of Peshawar in Pakistan.</p>
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A photo showing Commissioner Peshawar Riaz Mehsud posing next to over a dozen hunted partridges has sparked outrage on social media.</p>
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Hunting endangered species just for fun is highly condemnable. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RiazMehsud?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RiazMehsud</a>, the commissioner of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Peshawar?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Peshawar</a>, audaciously poses for a photo with poached partridges.What is the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PTI?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PTI</a> govt doing? Will any action be taken against him? Or are the laws only for the poor? <a href="https://twitter.com/ajitsinghpundir?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ajitsinghpundir</a> <a href="https://t.co/v2LYTiVeS3">pic.twitter.com/v2LYTiVeS3</a></p>
— Afrah Shah (@afrahshah1) <a href="https://twitter.com/afrahshah1/status/1494573153565421571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Sharing the picture of trigger happy Mehsut with his trophies, Afra Shah, a Pakistani activist wrote in her Twitter post:  “Hunting endangered species just for fun is highly condemnable. Riaz Mehsud, the commissioner of Peshawar, audaciously poses for a photo with poached partridges. What is the PTI government doing? Will any action be taken against him? Or are the laws only for the poor?”</p>
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The 24 birds in the photograph are endangered black and grey partridges. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed the black partridge on its Red List of Threatened Species.</p>
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Pakistani journalist Asad Ali Toor said, “Will the PTI government which claims to be custodian of wildlife take action against him? Hunting of endangered species is on the rise in PTI’s Govt.”</p>
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Commissioner Peshawar, Riaz Mehsud proudly poses for a photo with poached partridges. Will PTI Govt which claims to be custodian of wildlife take action against him? Hunting of endangered species is on the rise in PTI’s Govt. <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ImranKhanPTI</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/FaisalAminKhan?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@FaisalAminKhan</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AbidMajeed1969?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AbidMajeed1969</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WWFPak?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WWFPak</a> <a href="https://t.co/AW0jhYy2UF">pic.twitter.com/AW0jhYy2UF</a></p>
— Asad Ali Toor (@AsadAToor) <a href="https://twitter.com/AsadAToor/status/1494540987875614722?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2022</a></blockquote>
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“Clearly, trophy hunting is no big deal for the ministers in Imran Khan’s Government. In 2021, they had invited eleven members of the UAE royal family to hunt the internationally protected and highly vulnerable Hubara Bustard in Pakistan‘s Panjgur district.” wrote another user.</p>
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While the hunter Mehsud claims that he paid one lakh rupees for getting permission to hunt these birds, the Assistant Director Wildlife Pakistan, Tanveer Janjua told Urdu News that “these days all licenses are banned. If anyone hunts it will be a violation of the law”.</p>
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But who cares about the law in Pakistan where hunting of endangered species is considered a “Cornerstone of Pakistan’s Foreign Policy.”  Like every year, last year too, the Imran Khan government had permitted select  Arab royals to hunt endangered bustards charging thousands of dollars.</p>
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<strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/world-news/to-please-arab-royals-imran-khan-allows-them-to-hunt-endangered-bustard-126877.html">To please Arab royals, Imran Khan allows them to hunt endangered bustard</a></strong></p>