Category: 1. Pakistan

The Punjab Police on Thursday arrested a suspect allegedly involved in “horrific” animal torture being committed in Lahore and put a stop to the activity.

Lahore’s JFK Animal Rescue and Shelter said it received reports about an “extremely horrific situation after an Instagram influencer was seen posting torturing and killing animals, including bunnies and cats”.

The organisation said it immediately contacted the police, who reached the location to find dead bodies of animals and blood, with the suspect found “laughing” when approached. The shelter said it would register a case against her and the animals were moved to shelters by the Police Animal Rescue Centre (PARC).

Visuals shared by the shelter showed cats, rabbits and birds of prey in captivity at the site.

Lahore Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Syeda Shehrbano Naqvi addressed the incident in a video, saying: “We just came back from a case where a girl … was torturing animals and she had rabbits, some exotic animals, cats and a lot of other stuff.”

She said the suspect had been posting graphic imagery of animal cruelty and violence on social media. The policewoman urged the public not to gift pets to someone suffering from mental issues.

“Please, start talking about animal cruelty because animal cruelty leads to us being cruel towards children [and] us being cruel towards vulnerable communities.”

She told Dawn.com the suspect was arrested and admitted to a mental healthcare facility. “She had run away several times from rehabilitation in the past as well,” the officer added.

ASP Naqvi said a case was registered on PARC’s complaint at Defence B Police Station under Pakistan Penal Code Section 289 (negligent conduct with respect to animal), Section 3 (penalty for cruelty to animals and for sale of animals killed with unnecessary cruelty) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890, and Sections 10A (cruelty to animal prohibited), 12 (certificate of lawful possession) and 15 (restriction on dealings in animals, trophies or meat) of the Punjab Wildlife (Protection, Preservation, Conservation, and Management) Act, 1974.

The reason given by the ASP for the FIR was “cruelty towards animals after caging them and then killing animals and posting videos/pictures of the graphic content on Instagram and other social media platforms.”

PARC was established as a pioneering institution in Lahore in 2023, making significant strides over the past year in rescuing and protecting animals from abuse, neglect and abandonment.

Since its inception, PARC has safely relocated 1,130 animals to protection centres where they received proper care and treatment. These efforts have played a vital role in reducing animal suffering in urban settings. It generated a detailed report on animal abuse and the protection of animal rights in May, saying it had rescued 1,379 animals, 50 of them from extreme cruelty, in two years.

Pakistan has almost no animal welfare policy or service in place. The most prominent law for animal protection, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (1890) — which dates back to the colonial era — is limited in scope and lacks understanding of animal welfare in today’s context.

The federal government did pass a law in 2018, increasing the fines for animal cruelty. It increased the maximum fine to Rs100,000 for animal cruelty, which had remained at the Rs50 level since the law was first passed in 1890, for first-time offenders. The minimum fine was raised to Rs10,000. There was a similar increase in fines for other offences against animals.

However, the law is only applicable in the federal capital, and does not extend to the rest of Pakistan. This is because animal welfare became a provincial subject after the 18th Amendment, and provinces are required to enact their own laws.

That is yet to happen, resulting in punishment for offences against animals in the rest of Pakistan staying the same as they were under the 1890 law.

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani government delegation on Thursday concluded an official visit to the United Arab Emirates as part of a program aimed at sharing knowledge and best practices in governance and public sector modernization.

The delegation, led by Bilal Azhar Kayani, Pakistan’s Minister of State for Finance and Railways and Head of the Prime Minister’s Delivery Unit, participated in the UAE Government’s Experience Exchange Programme (EEP). The initiative is aligned with Pakistani Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif’s wider push for institutional reform and better service delivery across the country’s public sector.

During the visit, the eight-member team held detailed sessions with senior UAE officials to learn about digital governance, tax system modernization, leadership development, and innovation in public service.

“Kayani expressed gratitude to the UAE Government for facilitating valuable knowledge-sharing engagements in areas such as digital governance, public service delivery, and tax system modernization,” the Pakistan Embassy in Abu Dhabi said in an official statement.

On the final day of the program, the Pakistani delegation met senior Emirati officials including Mohammad Al Sharhan, Managing Director of the World Governments Summit, Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director General of the UAE Federal Tax Authority, Saeed Al Eter, Chair of the UAE Government Media Office, Dr. Waleed Al Ali, Secretary General of The Digital School and Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of Dubai Future Foundation.

The sessions focused on the UAE’s approach to future foresight, media communication, and performance management in governance.

Kayani “underscored Pakistan’s commitment to adopting global best practices in digital governance, efficiency, and public sector competitiveness to enhance service delivery and institutional performance,” the statement added.

The visit builds on a Memorandum of Understanding signed on June 16, 2025, between the UAE Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and Pakistan’s Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives. The agreement aims to strengthen cooperation in governance excellence and institutional capacity-building.

The UAE is one of Pakistan’s largest trading partners and an important source of foreign remittances, with more than 1.7 million Pakistani expatriates living and working in the Emirates. According to Pakistan’s Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment, the UAE is the second-largest destination for Pakistani migrant workers after Saudi Arabia.

In recent years, bilateral trade has grown steadily, reaching nearly $10 billion in 2024, driven by energy imports, textiles, and other goods. Pakistani workers in the UAE sent home over $5 billion in remittances last fiscal year, providing vital foreign exchange for the country’s economy.

The two countries maintain close ties in investment, defense cooperation, and people-to-people exchanges, underpinned by shared commitments to economic development and regional stability.

Awami National Party (ANP) leader Maulana Khan Zaib was among two who were killed in a shooting near the Khar Tehsil headquarters in Bajaur.

The ANP leader was shot dead while campaigning for the July 13 peace movement, according to the Bajaur District Police Officer (DPO) Waqas Rafiq.

Furthermore, the senior police official added that the firing also injured three of Maulana’s associates who were shifted to the hospital.

Maulana Zaib was the head of ANP’s Ulema Council and a former National Assembly candidate.

Following the killing, ANP workers and citizens staged a protest, which ended moments later.

In a post on X, ANP President Senator Aimal Wali Khan expressed grief over the attack. In the post, he uploaded a picture with the slain politician, writing: “Devastated”.

ANP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa President Mian Iftikhar Hussain condemned the assassination attack on Maulana Zaib, announcing that the party would observe three days of mourning.

He further stated that leader’s killing was a clear proof that terrorists are once again given free hand in the region while state institutions watch in complete silence.

Maulana’s funeral prayer would be held tomorrow at 11am in Nawagai, according to the district president of ANP.

Adviser to KP CM on Information Barrister Muhammad Ali Saif said Maulana Zaib’s killers would be brought to justice soon, adding that the murder was an attack on peace.

Last week, five people, including Assistant Commissioner Nawagai Faisal Ismail, were martyred in a deadly blast in Tehsil Khar of Bajaur district.

This attack also claimed the lives of Tehsildar Abdul Wakeel, two police officials and a passerby. In addition, 11 others, including five police personnel, sustained injuries and were shifted to nearby medical facilities for treatment. 

At least eight officials of the Sindh Building Control Authority (SBCA) were arrested on Thursday along with the owner of a building that recently collapsed in Karachi’s Lyari, claiming 27 lives.

The five-storey building on Fida Husain Shaikha Road in Lea Market collapsed on Friday morning, with the rescue operations concluding on Sunday. The building had already been declared uninhabitable by authorities due to its dilapidated structure, with the SBCA saying it had issued multiple prior notices to residents to vacate the structure since 2023.

South Deputy Inspector General of Police Syed Asad Raza told Dawn.com that the arrests were made today after a first information report (FIR) was registered a day ago.

“Nine officials and the present owner of the building were nominated in the FIR registered on a complaint of an official of the local government department. However, eight directors and deputy directors were arrested but one official was not arrested as he was sick,” he said. adding that the owner was arrested as well.

The provincial government had suspended SBCA Director General Ishaque Khuhro and announced strict action against all those responsible for the incident on Monday. Sindh Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said a fact-finding committee had been formed to present a report on the incident, adding that the Sindh chief minister ordered the home minister to immediately register an FIR.

The FIR was registered at the Baghdadi Police Station on the complaint of Hamadullah, a section officer of the Sindh Local Government and Housing Town Planning Department, under Sections 34 (common intention), 217 (public servant disobeying direction of law with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture), 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture), 288 (negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings), 322 (punishment for qatl-bis-sabab), 337-Ai (whoever, by doing any act with the intention of thereby causing hurt to any person, or with the knowledge that he is likely thereby to cause hurt to any person causes shajjah-i-khafifah) and 427 (mischief causing damage amounting to Rs50) of the Pakistan Penal Code.

The FIR said the building, spread over 527.3 square yards, was constructed in 1986. Its owner constructed the five-storey plus ground floor building in two portions, and for a considerable period, both portions (buildings) were in dilapidated condition and were unlivable. It added that one building with 20 apartments collapsed on July 4 due to the “criminal negligence” of the SBCA officials and the owner.

The FIR said the SBCA officials were aware of the dilapidated condition of the building over the years till the collapse. It added that the officials “completely failed” to perform their official duty and “committed negligence and carelessness”.

The FIR further said that the officials “deliberately” did not mention in the official record that the building was dilapidated. It also added that the present owner of the building and other unknown owners also knew that it was not livable for humans. Despite this, the owners gave several flats on rent to members of the Hindu community and committed negligence.

The complainant said he wanted legal proceedings against the SBCA officials and owners of the building.