DERA GHAZI KHAN, Oct 23: Tension over houbara hunting in Jampur took a bloody turn on Monday when an employee of a bird conservation group was killed allegedly by a group of hunters in an armed clash.

Harand area of Jampur in Rajanpur district has been a source of tension between local tribesmen dominated by Gorchanis and conservation teams of Houbara Foundation (HF).

Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts are breeding spots of this rare migratory bird and the hunting is banned. But the law does not deter tribal hunters as each bird earns them a handsome amount.

The tribesmen, however, accuse the HF of acting as ‘advance party’ of foreign dignitaries who are allowed by the government to shoot bird in the protected area.

According to reports reaching here on Monday evening, a group of hunters led by local influential Munawar Khan Jiani was on a hunting trip when a HF party assisted by border military police challenged it.

Sources said that local nazim also reached the spot after getting a message from the HF team.

A crossfire erupted after arguments in which a houbara employee, Ali Baid s/o Khawja Bakhsh Gashkori, died. BMP officials were keeping a mum. The clash took place just after Iftar.