A court in Rahim Yar Khan has sentenced four men to one year in prison and imposed fines totaling Rs. 4 million for illegally hunting a Chinkara gazelle. This is the first time in Punjab’s history that such a heavy penalty has been handed down for a wildlife crime.
The case, registered in 2023 by Wildlife Rangers in Rahim Yar Khan, related to the illegal hunting of a Chinkara in the Cholistan Desert. It was heard in the Civil Court of Tehsil Khanpur under challan number 06-WI/2023. Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Mujahid Kaleem Khan led the prosecution.
The court found all four accused — Saleem Sargodhi, Sadiq Mangria, Pannu Mangria, and Rafiq Parhiyar — guilty. Each was ordered to serve one year in prison and pay a Rs. 1 million fine. If the fine is not paid, the convicts will face an additional six months in jail. Following the verdict, they were taken into custody.
Assistant Chief Wildlife Ranger Mujahid Kaleem Khan welcomed the judgment, calling it a “major breakthrough” in the fight against illegal hunting in the Cholistan Public Wildlife Reserve. He said the punishment would act as a strong deterrent to poachers.
The Punjab government toughened wildlife protection laws in 2021, increasing both fines and prison terms for poaching. Under the amended Wildlife Act, illegal hunting of species such as blackbuck, Chinkara, hog deer, or urial now carries a sentence of one to three years in prison, along with fines ranging from Rs. 200,000 to Rs. 1 million per animal.
The Cholistan Desert, Pakistan’s second-largest desert, is home to several rare species including Chinkara, blackbuck, nilgai, and urial, as well as diverse bird populations. However, decades of unchecked illegal hunting have severely threatened wildlife numbers in the region.