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
Peace can only prevail if Afghanistan renounces support for ‘terrorism’— Pakistan defense chief
- Pakistan’s chief of defense forces visits South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan
- Pakistan says has killed 481 Afghan Taliban operatives since clashes began last Thursday
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir said on Wednesday that peace with Afghanistan can only prevail if Kabul renounces support for “terrorism” and “terrorist” organizations, the military’s media wing said as the two countries remain locked in conflict.
Fighting between the two neighbors, the worst in decades, broke out last Thursday night after Afghan forces attacked Pakistan’s military installations along their shared border. Afghanistan said its attacks were in response to earlier airstrikes by Pakistan against alleged militant hideouts in its country.
Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militant outfits such as the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) on its soil who have launched attacks against Pakistani civilians and security forces in recent years. Kabul denies the allegations.
Munir visited Wana town in Pakistan’s South Waziristan district to review the security situation and troops’ operational preparedness at the Afghan border, the Pakistani military’s media wing said in a statement.
“The Field Marshal reiterated that peace could only prevail between both sides if the Afghan Taliban renounced their support for terrorism and terrorist organizations,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
The military chief said the use of Afghan soil by militant outfits to launch attacks against Pakistan was unacceptable, vowing that “all necessary measures” would be taken to neutralize cross-border threats.
During the visit, Munir was briefed by military commanders about ongoing intelligence-based operations and measures being taken by the military to manage the border with Afghanistan.
He was also briefed about “Operation Ghazab Lil Haq” or “Wrath for the Truth,” the name Pakistan has given to its military operation against Afghan forces, the ISPR said.
The Pakistani military chief spoke to troops deployed in the area, praising their vigilance, professional conduct and high morale, the ISPR said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Wednesday that the military has killed 481 Taliban operatives, injured more than 690 and destroyed 226 Afghan checkposts since clashes began.
Arab News has been unable to verify claims by both sides about the damages they claim to have inflicted on each other.
Afghanistan has signaled it is open for dialogue but Pakistan rejected the offer, saying it would continue its military operations till its objectives were achieved.
Since the conflict began, diplomatic efforts have intensified with several countries, including global bodies such as the European Union and United Nations, urging restraint and calling for talks.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif that Ankara would help reinstate a ceasefire, the Turkish Presidency said on Tuesday, as other countries that had offered to mediate have since been hit by the conflict in the Gulf.
