PESHAWAR: Commending the government’s move to protect Pakistan’s national animal, the Markhor, conservationists said that the initiative has finally paid off, resulting in a considerable increase in the endangered species’ population.
Markhor (or screw-horn goat) hunting is a legalized sport in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. However, by making it expensive to procure a hunting license, authorities have been successful in ensuring that the number of Markhors has risen to more than 4,000 in the last three decades.
“Markhor numbers have jumped from few hundreds to more than 4,000 in last three decades,” Safdar Shah, the chief conservator of KP’s wildlife department, told Arab News.
He added that strict surveillance on part of the Village Conservation Community (VCC) and a ban on hunting without official permits have been the main reasons for an increase in the population of the species.
“The locals are now protecting it, as 80 percent of trophy hunting’s revenue goes to the local community,” Shah said.
Shah added that the provincial government, along with local community members, have taken up the responsibility of owning and protecting the animal from illegal hunters.
The Markhor inhabits the northern areas of Chitral, Hunza, and a few other mountainous regions where it lives at an altitude of 3,500 to 12,000 feet above sea level.
Trophy hunting of the animal, which began in 1998-99, has seen officials issue 69 licenses till date and amass a revenue of $4.3 million in the process, wildlife department officials told Arab News.
Markhor trophy hunting, conservation efforts go side by side
Markhor trophy hunting, conservation efforts go side by side
- Endangered species’ population has gone up from a few hundred to more than 4,000
- The rate for each hunting license varies from $80,000 to $120,000
Pakistan drops 8,000 MW power procurement, claims $17 billion savings amid IMF-driven reforms
- Government says decision taken “on merit” as it seeks to cut losses, circular debt, ease consumer pressure
- Power minister says losses fell from $2.1 billion to $1.4 billion, circular debt dropped by $2.8 billion
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has abandoned plans to procure around 8,000 megawatts of expensive electricity, the power minister said on Sunday, adding that the decision was taken “purely on merit” and would save about $17 billion.
The power sector has long been a major source of Pakistan’s fiscal stress, driven by surplus generation capacity, costly contracts and mounting circular debt. Reforming electricity pricing, reducing losses and limiting new liabilities are central conditions under an ongoing $7 billion IMF program approved in 2024.
Pakistan has historically contracted more power generation than it consumes, forcing the government to make large capacity payments even for unused electricity. These obligations have contributed to rising tariffs, budgetary pressure and repeated IMF bailouts over the past two decades.
“The government has abandoned the procurement of around 8000 megawatts of expensive electricity purely on merit, which will likely to save 17 billion dollars,” Power Minister Sardar Awais Ahmed Khan Leghari said while addressing a news conference in Islamabad, according to state broadcaster Radio Pakistan.
He said the federal government was also absorbing losses incurred by power distribution companies rather than passing them on to consumers.
The minister said the government’s reform drive was already showing results, with losses reduced from Rs586 billion ($2.1 billion) to Rs393 billion ($1.4 billion), while circular debt declined by Rs780 billion ($2.8 billion) last year. Recoveries, he added, had improved by Rs183 billion ($660 million).
Leghari said electricity tariffs had been reduced by 20 percent at the national level over the past two years and expressed confidence that prices would be aligned with international levels within the next 18 months.
Power sector reform has been one of the most politically sensitive elements of Pakistan’s IMF-backed adjustment program, with higher tariffs and tighter enforcement weighing on households and industry. The government says cutting losses, improving recoveries and avoiding costly new capacity are essential to stabilizing public finances and restoring investor confidence.
