Gilgit-Baltistan to auction 117 trophy hunting permits

Gilgit-Baltistan to auction 117 trophy hunting permits.

Key points

• Base rates set at $200, 000 for markhor, $25, 000 for blue sheep and $11, 000 for ibex Open auction scheduled for Sept 10 in Gilgit.
• Jamil Nagri Published August 28, 2026 Updated August 28, 2026 08: 46am.
• GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan's Parks and Wildlife Department will auction hunting permits for three Astore markhors, 14 blue sheep and 100 ibexes for the GB Trophy Hunting programme 2026-27.
• According to the official notice, trophy hunting will be conducted under GB Trophy Hunting Guidelines 2019 from October 15 to April 10, 2027.
• GB Chief Conservator Parks and Wildlife Zakir Hussain informed Dawn that last year, Rs350 million was collected from the auctioned permits against a target of Rs550m.

Jamil Nagri Published August 28, 2026 Updated August 28, 2026 08: 46am. Join our Whatsapp Channel. Add Dawn as a trusted source.

For context, the highest permit base rate is for markhor, set at $200, 000. The base rate for blue sheep hunting permits has been set at $25, 000, and at $11, 000 for Himalayan ibex.

According to The auction notice, out of the exportable quota of four Astore markhors, one permit had been extended from the last hunting season, so three new permits would be auctioned in September.

For context, the open bidding for the permits will be held on September 10 at the Forest Complex in Jutial, Gilgit.

According to the official notice, trophy hunting will be conducted under GB Trophy Hunting Guidelines 2019 from October 15 to April 10, 2027. Hunting would be permissible only in the designated conservation areas.

Notably, the trophy hunting quota had been set on the basis of annual surveys conducted by wildlife experts, the notice remarked.

He continued that permits for two Astore markhors, five blue sheep and 10 exportable Himalayan ibexes went unused in the 2025-26 trophy hunting programme, resulting in a loss of Rs200m.

Mr Hussain had informed Dawn at the time that the law and order situation after violent protests in Gilgit and Skardu – against the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – had led to the cancellation of hunting intends by American and other foreign hunters.

Business owners and tour operators have been opposing the permit rate hikes for the past two years, claiming that the decision had damaged their businesses.

They have cautioned of losses for businesses and the local communities who rely on trophy-hunting revenue. Ikram Beg, a business owner who sells hunting equipment, remarked the trophy hunting conservation programme in GB was facing a serious challenge.

"Over the last two years, the Wildlife Department has repeatedly increased trophy hunting baseline price by more than 300 per cent without adequately considering the recommendations of key stakeholders, " he remarked. Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2026.

Jamil Nagri is a Gilgit-Baltistan-based correspondent for Dawn with over a decade of experience in journalism. His reporting and feature writing focus on CPEC, climate change, the environment, and adventure tourism. He can be discovered on X at @jamilnagri.

For now, gilgit-Baltistan to auction 117 trophy hunting permits remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.