CHITRAL, Dec 31: Four of five village conservation committees (VCCs) of Gahirait conservancy have warned to resist trophy hunting of Kashmir markhor if two watchers of the conservancy are not transferred.

In a resolution signed by presidents of these committees, including Haider Zaman, Shahzada Saif, Shamsher Dastagir and Amjad Jan, they said that the hunting was likely to be disturbed in the presence of the two officials.

The wildlife department has issued trophy hunting permits in the conservancy, which is said to be the richest in the district for its biodiversity and thick population of markhor.

The resolution alleged that the watchers – Shiekh Islam and Mohammad Ishaq – have strained relations with the community workers who have organised themselves into VCCs. It said that divisional forest officer of wildlife, Chitral, also ignored their requests for transfer the officials. They said that now the VCCs have decided to resist trophy hunting in the area.

PTI ELECTION: The intra-party elections of Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf have been completed in all 24 union councils of the district and 312 office-bearers were elected who will vote in tehsil and district level elections of the party. Speaking at a press conference here the other day, PTI district convener Mohammad Qasim and district election commissioner Altaf Gauhar said that all the office-bearers were elected unopposed.

Opinion

Editorial

On press freedoms
Updated 03 May, 2026

On press freedoms

THE citizenry forgets, to its own peril, how important a free and independent media is in the preservation of their...
Inflation strain
03 May, 2026

Inflation strain

PAKISTAN’S return to double-digit inflation after 21 months signals renewed economic strain where external shocks...
Troubled waters
03 May, 2026

Troubled waters

PAKISTAN’S water crisis is often framed in terms of scarcity. Increasingly, it is also a crisis of contamination....
Iran stalemate
Updated 02 May, 2026

Iran stalemate

THE US and Iran are currently somewhere between war and peace. While a tenuous ceasefire — extended largely due to...
Tax shortfall
02 May, 2026

Tax shortfall

THE Rs684bn shortfall in tax collection during the first 10 months of the fiscal year is a continuation of a...
Teaching inclusion
02 May, 2026

Teaching inclusion

DISCRIMINATORY and exclusionary content in Punjab’s textbooks has been flagged in Inclusive Education for a United...