Two members of the Frontier Corps (FC) were martyred and four were injured by a roadside bomb on Wednesday in Balochistan’s Turbat district, officials said.
The incident occurred in Dasht tehsil of Kharan, situated between Turbat and Gwadar, when a group of Arab sheikhs were returning to their camp after hunting, Dasht deputy commissioner (AC) Hameed Korai said. dawn.com.
The Arabs remained safe, AC Korai confirmed, adding that “two FC members were martyred, while four were wounded and were immediately transferred to Turbat.”
The same was confirmed by a senior local administration official, Abdul Hameed, to AFP.
A second local administration official also confirmed AFP He detailed the attack on condition of anonymity and said the Arabs belonged to the Qatari royal family, adding that they had provided “additional security” after the explosion.
None of the officials said which members of the Qatari royal family, who number in the thousands, were in the hunting party.
It was also unclear whether Qataris were specifically targeted.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hunting enthusiasts among the Gulf elite travel to Balochistan every winter to capture the rare and solitary houbara bustard using falcons.
Animal rights groups have long criticized Pakistan for allowing wealthy Arabs to hunt houbara birds that migrate by the thousands from Central Asia each winter.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature classifies the houbara as a vulnerable species.
In the Arab world, poultry meat is said to be an aphrodisiac and Pakistan’s willingness to issue hunting licenses is often called a form of “soft diplomacy” aimed at wealthy Gulf nations.
