Pakistan committed to protect snow leopards

Islamabad
Minister for Climate Change Senator Mushahidullah Khan said that Pakistan is committed to joining global efforts and playing its part for protection and conservation of the endangered snow leopard, whose population has declined rapidly in the country mainly due to illegal hunting.
According to a faxed message received here, he expressed these views while delivering his speech at the inaugural ceremony of the first high-level two-day meeting of steering committee of the Global Snow Leopard and Ecosystem Protection (GSLEP) programme held in Kyrgyzstan on March 18.
Mushahidullah Khan told the participants belonging to 12 countries that only about 4,000-6,500 snow leopards are alive today but the number is falling fast due to poaching, hunting and climate change.
“Snow leopards are in trouble — and only humans can help by joining efforts of the respective governments aimed at controlling their illegal hunting and poaching at all levels,” the minister said. He hoped that joint efforts across countries to be pledged at the GSLEP meeting in Bishkek would help protect snow leopards from extinction and yield a range of positive results, such as preserving biodiversity.