CHITRAL: A tragic incident occurred during trophy hunting of Himalayan Ibex in Barp area of Upper Chitral, where a non-local hunter’s long struggle and investment of hundreds of thousands of rupees went to waste when his shot hit a juvenile ibex instead of the intended target.

According to details, a hunter from another district, assisted by local community members, had selected a large ibex with heavy horns for the hunt after exhausting tracking and searching.

However, reportedly due to his weapon failure, the bullet’s trajectory changed, and instead of hitting the selected adult ibex, it struck a nearby three-year-old ibex and killed it.

Locals said that aggrieved and heartbroken over the failure to secure his dream trophy and the unintentional mistake, the hunter departed.

Meanwhile, an emergency meeting of valley conservation committee (VCC) Thorjal Barp was held with its president Sultan Zarin in the chair to discuss the incident in which a unanimous resolution was passed.

The resolution stated that hunting of the juvenile ibex was not intentional but purely a ‘human error’ caused by the weapon’s malfunction.

When contacted, the divisional forest officer, Faruq Nabi, also termed it a human error and shared the video clip of the hunting in support of his view.

SEMINARY: Khateeb of Shahi Masjid Chitral Maulana Khaliquz Zaman Kakakhel has been appointed as president of Government Darul Uloom Chitral. He was serving at the government-run seminary as teacher.

The seminary, located on the premises of historical Shahi Masjid, is considered one of the country’s few specialised and prestigious religious institutions, established by the government in 1953 whose ‘Dars-i-Nizami’ degrees are recognised by the department of education.

His father, the renowned scholar Maulana Sahibuz Zaman, also served as the founding administrator (Mohtamim) of this prestigious institution until late 1980s, while simultaneously performing duty as Khateeb of Shahi Masjid.

Locals have welcomed the appointment, calling it a positive omen for the institution’s improvement. They believe that his academic excellence will further strengthen the bond between people and this historic educational centre.

Maulana Khaliq is a graduate of this seminary. He was enrolled there in 1984 and obtained his degree with distinction in 1993. Recognising his talent, he was appointed as a teacher at the same institution.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2026