RAWALPINDI: A Sri Lankan elephant who has lived in Pakistan since 1985 will soon be released to a highly revered animal sanctuary in Cambodia, confirmed a senior official of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) on Saturday.
Kaavan the elephant’s retirement plan was finalized in an emergency meeting called by the board on July 13 after animal rights activists appealed to the federal government to provide relief to the long-suffering animal.
Once official, the decision was tweeted by Free the Wild (FTW), a non-profit established to fight animal captivity worldwide, on Friday, announcing that Kaavan would finally be released to the Elephant Nature Park in Cambodia.
Kaavan was gifted by the Sri Lankan government to Pakistan shortly after his birth. While he became an icon in Pakistan and was well-loved by the public, the conditions he was kept in increasingly deteriorated, making him look visibly distressed.
Petitions for his rescue began circulating in 2015 with accusations of gruesome neglect being lodged against the Islamabad Zoo. In 2016, music icon Cher got involved in the fight to free Kaavan, initiating multiple twitter hashtags and even performing songs for him while touring the world.
Cher joined forces with UK businessman Mark Cowne and wildlife photographer Gina Nelthorpe-Cowne to find FTW and begin fighting the fight for Kaavan, joined by a number of local Pakistani fighters ranging from lawyers to animal rights activists, zookeepers and veterinarians.
Chairman of the IWMB Dr. Anis ur Rahman spoke to Arab News over the phone about the joint effort to reach a decision to release Kaavan to Cambodia.
He pointed out the importance of the involvement of Pakistan’s federal government, saying it was “completely behind the move and fully supportive.”
Rahman also stated that “nothing could have moved forward without the explicit interest of the Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court who slowly, slowly over the last one year worked hard to make this happen.”
Going forward, the government will be instrumental in the planning and carrying out of the safe transport of Kaavan to Cambodia in a few months.
Rahman told Arab News that a technical team under the IWMB had been put in place for “the relocation of the elephant to the Cambodian wildlife sanctuary.”
“We want to ensure a totally safe relocation without any harm to Kaavan,” he added.
Rahman informed that two experts, including a veterinarian from the Elephant Nature Park, would arrive in Islamabad next week to check on Kaavan and run some tests, estimating that the animal would be moved away from Pakistan in two months’ time.
In addition to health checks between now and then, Kaavan, who will travel to Cambodia by plane, will be introduced to and made comfortable with the transport crate he will travel in.
“It’s quite small so we want him to get accustomed to it and understand that he is safe in it,” Rahman said.
For Pakistan’s lonely elephant Kaavan, freedom awaits in a Cambodia sanctuary
https://arab.news/py8nx
For Pakistan’s lonely elephant Kaavan, freedom awaits in a Cambodia sanctuary
- Efforts from animal rights activists, Pakistani government and music icon Cher led to Kaavan’s retirement
- For 35 years, Kaavan was kept in increasingly deteriorating conditions in the Islamabad Zoo
Pakistan’s president defends ongoing strikes in Afghanistan, urges Kabul to dismantle militants
- Afghanistan on Thursday launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday
- Pakistan’s military says it is only targeting Afghan military installations to avoid civilian casualties
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s president on Monday defended his country’s ongoing military strikes in neighboring Afghanistan, saying Islamabad tried all forms of diplomacy before targeting militants operating from Afghan territory, and called on the Taliban government in Kabul to disarm groups responsible for attacks in Pakistan.
Pakistan earlier said it is in “open war” with Afghanistan, alarming the international community. The border area remains a stronghold for militant organizations including Al-Qaeda and the Daesh (Islamic State) group.
“(The Afghan Taliban) must choose to dismantle the terror groups that survive on conflict and its war economy,” Asif Ali Zardari said during a speech to lawmakers, adding that “no state accepts serial attacks on its soil.”
Afghanistan on Thursday launched attacks in retaliation for Pakistani airstrikes the previous Sunday. Since then, Pakistan has carried out operations along the border, with Information Minister Attaullah Tarar claiming the killing of 435 Afghan forces and the capture of 31 Afghan positions.
Kabul has denied such claims.
In Afghanistan, the deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Pakistan’s military fired mortar shells at a refugee camp in eastern Kunar province, killing three children and injuring three others.
Afghanistan’s defense ministry said Afghan forces carried out strikes targeting a Pakistani military facility near Paktia province, causing “substantial losses and heavy casualties.”
Pakistan’s military did not respond to questions. It has said Pakistan is only targeting Afghan military installations to avoid civilian casualties.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge of violence in recent months and blames it on the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP. It operates both inside Pakistan and from Afghan territory.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing safe havens for the TTP, which Kabul denies.
The latest cross-border fighting ended a ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkiye in October. The two sides failed to reach a permanent agreement during talks in Istanbul.
Zardari reiterated Pakistan’s call for talks, saying, “We have never walked away from dialogue.”
The Pakistani leader again accused Afghanistan of acting as a proxy for India by sheltering militant groups.
“Stop being used by another country as a battlefield for their ambitions,” he said.
Zardari cited a recent report from the United Nations Security Council’s monitoring team that described the presence of militant groups in Afghanistan as an extra-regional threat.
