Arab and other foreign national hunters with trained birds of prey have travelled to western Afghanistan to hunt rare birds and crawls despite a Presidential decree outlawing such hunting in Afghanistan.
TOLOnews has received video clips showing up to 160 foreigners consisting of Arab, Pakistani, Kashmiri and Bangladeshi nationals including a Qatari trade minister hunting in the western parts of Afghanistan recently.
However, hunting has been made illegal in Afghanistan.
The poachers target pigeons, partridges and rabbits with their large predatorial birds such as hawks and falcons.
It is said that Mohammad Ismail, a Vice Presidential candidate to Abdurrab Rasoul Sayyaf, invited many of the Arab hunters to come to Afghanistan for hunting. Up to 60 police personnel have been assigned to provide security to them and they were able to bring eleven armored vehicles.
On the basis of an invitation letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Arab, Pakistani, Kashmiri and Bangladeshi jaegers arrived in Afghanistan on December 26, 2013.