GILGIT - A court in Gilgit-Baltistan has sent three persons to prison and imposed fine of Rs13 million for killing Markhors here.

The accused persons were involved in the killing of three Markhors. The Gilgit-Baltistan Wildlife Department Magistrate Aftab Mehmod on Friday sent them to jail for two years and also fined Rs13 million each for the crime under the wildlife law for illegally hunting Markhor in Astor. The accused identified as Muhammad Hussain, Mushtaq and Sikandar were arrested by the wildlife department along with weapons, heads, and horns of the killed animals. The accused persons had hunted Pakistan’s national animal in Bonji community conservation of district Astor, Forest and Wildlife Conservator Yaqoob Ali Khan told The Nation on Saturday.

It is to mention here that the provincial government sold permits to hunt four Markhors,100 Ibexes, and 14 Himalayan blue sheep in the region in September 2017.

The license fee for Astor Markhors is $68000, Himalayan Blue sheep is $10500 and Ibexes is $3500, respectively.