ISLAMABAD: Pakistani officials on Thursday began a new probe into Islamabad’s notorious zoo, already under scrutiny over its treatment of a famous elephant, following the recent deaths of several animals including lions and ostriches.
The ministry of climate change in the Pakistani capital said it had convened a commission to investigate the deaths, which it blamed on the careless relocation of animals, shoddy management and poor feeding.
In a statement, the ministry said it was “seriously concerned” about the “intolerable and inhumane” treatment of zoo animals.
The investigation comes as a video circulating online appeared to show a fire inside a lion’s cage at the zoo.
AFP could not immediately confirm the veracity of the video. Anis Ur Rehman, chairman of the Islamabad wildlife management board, said two lions had died while they were being moved from Islamabad to an enclosure in Lahore.
“The lioness died in Islamabad while the lion died after reaching Lahore,” Rehman said.
He confirmed a blaze had taken place but said “it’s not true” the lions died because of fire.
“We are waiting for the postmortem,” Rehman said.
He said the big cats had been stuck in small cages for years so efforts to move them had been highly stressful for the lions.
“Our staff has never moved animals, they have zero experience in handling the animals,” he said.
A court has ordered the eventual relocation of all the zoo’s animals while the facility is converted into a safari park, Muhammad Saleem, a spokesman at the ministry of climate change, told AFP.
The zoo garnered international headlines in May when Pakistan’s high court ordered the relocation of a lonely and mistreated Asian elephant called Kavaan whose cause had been championed by the American singer Cher.
Kavaan is slated to be moved to a sanctuary in Cambodia. He had been kept in chains and exhibited symptoms of mental illness, prompting global outrage over his treatment.
Pakistan probes deaths of lions, ostriches in Islamabad zoo
https://arab.news/n56mg
Pakistan probes deaths of lions, ostriches in Islamabad zoo
- Ministry of climate change blames careless relocation of animals, shoddy management and poor feeding
- Investigation comes as a video circulating online appears to show a fire inside a lion’s cage at the zoo
Pakistan says will press ahead with trilateral cooperation with China and Bangladesh
- Islamabad signals closer engagement with Dhaka amid shifting regional dynamics
- Trilateral platform gains traction after recent China-Pakistan strategic talks last week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it would continue to pursue a trilateral cooperation framework with China and Bangladesh aimed at boosting regional connectivity, trade and development, as consultations among the three countries move forward.
The framework, launched last year at the senior officials’ level, has gained renewed attention as ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh improve following years of limited engagement, while Dhaka’s relations with India, a longtime archrival of Pakistan, have come under strain amid domestic political upheaval.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad remained committed to the Pakistan-China-Bangladesh cooperation mechanism and intended to follow up on earlier consultations to deliver “practical outcomes.”
“On the Pakistan, Bangladesh and China mechanism, if you recall, a meeting took place last year [2025] at the level of vice ministers and foreign secretaries,” Andrabi told a weekly media briefing, adding that Pakistan looked forward to “positive outcomes” in line with an agreed joint communiqué.
“So of course, the consultations between the three of us would continue in the future to strive for outcomes which are beneficial for the peace, progress and prosperity of our people,” he said when asked specifically about Bangladesh’s role in the framework.
The trilateral cooperation was also referenced in a joint press communiqué issued after the Seventh Round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue held last week.
“The two sides expressed readiness to continue leveraging the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’
Dialogue and the China-Bangladesh-Pakistan cooperation mechanism to deliver new outcomes,” the statement said.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s engagement with China would continue across bilateral and trilateral formats, underscoring Islamabad’s preference for cooperative regional approaches focused on economic development rather than bloc politics.
Bangladesh was part of Pakistan until 1971, when it gained independence following a bloody war of independence. Relations between the two countries have shown signs of improvement in recent months, as Dhaka recalibrates its foreign policy after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024. India has so far declined Bangladesh’s request to extradite Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after violent student-led protests.
In a related development, Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu earlier this week held talks with a high-level Bangladeshi defense delegation on strengthening air force cooperation, including the potential sale of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets jointly developed by Pakistan and China.
