PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court has ruled that the 18th-century Bala Hisar Fort in the heart of the city should be open to the public.
The fort is currently home to a contingent of Pakistan’s paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC), which is engaged in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
The two-judge bench heard on Tuesday a petition filed by advocate Khurshid Khan, who argued that the fort is a historical landmark and should be open to the public so people can learn about the city’s history.
At an earlier hearing, the court directed the FC and the government to file their response, but they did not do so.
This prompted the court to rule that if the fort cannot be vacated, it should at least be open to the public and handed over to civil administration.
Abdul Munim, a member of the provincial assembly, said KP’s government supports the idea of handing over the fort to civil administration.
“According to our estimates, the Bala Hisar alone can boost KP’s tourism by almost 30 percent,” he told Arab News.
But a senior FC official told Arab News: “There’s sensitive gadgetry related to security that’s inappropriate for public viewership, as the law-and-order situation is already bad in the region.”
Both the civil administration and the FC refrained from officially commenting on the matter.
The fort, which was once used as a royal residence by the Durrani Empire, has housed the FC headquarters since 1948.
Bala Hisar means “elevated” or “high fort” in Dari Persian, and offers a panoramic view of the Peshawar valley. Parts of the fort are open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays.
Peshawar High Court: Open Bala Hisar Fort to public
Peshawar High Court: Open Bala Hisar Fort to public
Pakistan police book man for wounding buffalo with ax in Bahawalpur district
- Complainant accuses a landowner in Ahmadpur East of attacking buffalo for straying into his fodder field
- Pakistan police register case against suspect under Pakistan Penal Code for injuring cattle
ISLAMABAD: Police in Pakistan’s eastern Bahawalpur district registered a case on Sunday against a landowner for wounding a buffalo with ax for straying into his fodder field, in another case of animal brutality in the country.
As per a copy of the police complaint seen by Arab News, the complainant Bashir Ahmad, a laborer and resident of the Ismail Pur area of the Ahmadpur East city, said the incident took place on Jan. 24.
Ahmad said he arrived at his home after work on Saturday to find that his buffalo had escaped. Ahmad searched for the animal along with two others he cited as eyewitnesses in his report. They discovered that the buffalo had strayed into a fodder field nearby owned by a man named Manzoor Hussain.
“During this time, Manzoor Hussain came with an ax and as we watched, attacked both of the front legs of the buffalo,” the police report quoted Ahmad as saying.
The complainant said the buffalo collapsed as a result of the assault. It did not mention whether the buffalo had died or not.
Ahmad said the suspect abused him and the other eyewitnesses and left the area after they arrived.
“Manzoor Hussain has committed a grave injustice by injuring my buffalo,” the report quoted Ahmad as saying. “I want action to be taken against him.”
Police registered a case against Hussain under Sections 427 [mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees] and 429 [mischief by killing or maiming cattle of any value or any animal of the value of fifty rupees] of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Local media reported the suspect had been arrested following the police complaint.
Animal abuse cases in Pakistan have frequently made headlines over the years. In June 2024, a local landlord in the southern Sanghar district was accused of chopping off a camel’s leg after it strayed into his fields for grazing.
The story, which triggered an uproar on mainstream and social media, led to the camel being transported to an animal shelter in Karachi for treatment. Six suspects were arrested by the police.
In another incident in the southern Umerkot district during June 2024, a camel was found dead with its legs amputated.
In July 2024, a man was arrested in Pakistan’s eastern Shahpur city for chopping off a buffalo’s tongue.
Pakistan’s existing animal cruelty laws, rooted in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act of 1890, prohibit various forms of animal cruelty, including beating, overdriving, and mutilation.
The legislation also prescribes penalties for breaches of these anti-cruelty provisions, which can include fines and imprisonment, though these are not always effectively enforced.
