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American hunter surprised by Pakistani hospitality

Urges Americans to visit Pakistan without any fear

PESHAWAR: Sam Jaksick, an American hunter, was surprised by the hospitality and cooperation extended to him by the people of Pakistan during his hunting tour here.

Talking to reporters at the office of NWFP Wildlife Department Chief Conservator Dr Mumtaz Malik after hunting a Markhor in Chitral district under the Trophy Hunting Programme, Sam said, “I was concerned due to the media reports about Pakistan, but after visiting the country, I realised that such reports depict a wrong impression about the people of this country.”

He said when he informed his family and friends that he was going to Pakistan to hunt wild sheep, they were surprised and tried to persuade him to change his plan. “However, my passion of hunting forced me to face all sorts of challenges and when I got here, I was relieved to see the hospitality and passionate behavior of the people of the area,” he said.

Visit Pakistan: Sam also urged his countrymen to visit Pakistan without any fear. “I have not seen anything here like what we have heard about the people of this country, specially NWFP,” he said. Speaking about his excursion to the rugged and hilly terrains of Chitral, Sam said he really enjoyed it but had faced some difficulties due to the extreme cold in the area.

Sam Jaksick, who lives in Reno, Nevada in the USA, said he was an experienced hunter and liked hunting Markhor in Chitral district. He said he would come again to Pakistan next year and hunt another specie of wild sheep in Sindh desert. Sam said he had also visited different countries including Russia, Mongolia, Nepal, Africa and Iran for hunting different animals.

He said he had also hunted leopard in Africa. He said he had come to know about the Trophy Hunting Programme in NWFP through a hunting organisation in the USA and had visited Pakistan through an outfitter, Anchan Ali Mirza of Karakoram Treks and Tour.

He also hailed the arrangements made by his outfitter for his hunting journey and said he had faced no problems. He appreciated the conservation plan of the NWFP Wildlife Department and said he saw numerous Markhors in the area.

Sam was also appreciative of the local cuisine of Chitral. He said he took around five days to hunt the animal. “It was not difficult to shoot down the animal, but it took me five days to shoot it due to the bad weather,” he said. Sam also showed his trophy, the hunted animal’s horns, which he would take back to his country and display it in his drawing room.

Sources said under the Trophy Hunting Programme, Pakistan’s Wildlife departments only auctioned a few permits to foreign hunters for hunting Markhors. They said the amount recovered through the auction of the permits was mostly spent on development of those areas where Markhors were found.

“The scheme has shown very positive results and due to the incentive of development schemes, local people are now fully protecting the animal from poaching,” said Dr Mumtaz Malik. app

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