These new areas have never been hunted before by foreign hunters. Mirza describes this region as semi-arid terrain that is easy to walk with 5,000- to 7,000-foot elevations. Accessing the area takes a three-hour jeep ride from Islamabad over mostly paved roads. Mirza has secured six Punjab urial permits to hunt here. He says a hunter should be able to take a good Punjab urial over five to seven days of hunting.
Another recently opened area is a buffer zone next to Kirthar National Park in the Sind Province. Hunting is prohibited in the park, and game populations have grown so much that they have spilled into adjacent areas. A recent census counted 12,000 Sind ibex in Kirthar Park. Mirza says he motivated the community there to create and register what's called a Community Based Organization (CBO). CBO's are able to create conservation programs for their areas. Once the government approves the program and a game population survey is completed, the CBO is allotted permits and allowed to conduct hunts. Through his efforts here, Mirza has secured three more permits for Blanford urial and six more for Sind ibex, as well as exclusive access for hunting. In this area, he says the Sind trophies range from 36 to 45 inches, and the Blandfords measure 24 to 34 inches.
Access to this area requires flying to Karachi from Islamabad, then driving four hours to the Kirthar buffer zone.........(continued)
