KARACHI: Police in Karachi said on Friday a case had been registered against a group of people and two arrested after a child was attacked by a lion being walked by his owner in a residential neighborhood of the port city on the evening of May 14, as seen in a video that has since gone viral.
Keeping wild cats as pets is not uncommon in Pakistan, where wealthy businessmen have been known to operate private zoos and sometimes parade the animals for the public.
Last year, the Sindh wildlife department ordered to confiscate four lions and two tigers kept as pets by a resident of Karachi and seen roaming freely in a compound. In 2017, police in Pakistan arrested a man who took his pet lion for a night-time drive through the streets of Karachi after a video of the incident went viral on social media. In 2015, a pet lioness gave birth to five cubs in the central city of Multan, media said at the time.
According to estimates, over 200 lions are currently being kept as pets by residents of Karachi.
“A case has been registered against the owner, Osama, his brother and friends,” deputy superintendent of police Nasir Bukhari told Arab News about the May 14 incident, adding that the owner’s brother and a guard had been arrested while Osama himself was still at large. “The lion has been concealed at an undisclosed location and we are trying to recover both the lion and arrest the owner and other persons.”
The Sindh wildlife chief, Javed Mahar, said the possession of big wild cats was illegal in Sindh, and the administration had not issued a single license to keep such a pet.
Under the rules, he said, a licensee was entitled to possess big cats but could not keep them in residential areas in cities. A licensee was also required to provide “proper veterinary and health care” for the animals and keep them on a minimum 400 square yards area, 50 of which was to be reserved for vegetation such as grassy ground, trees and dead wood logs including an elevated artificial rockery.
According to regulations, the display of wild cats at public places, processions, gatherings, circuses, media talk shows and while traveling in the vehicle is also strictly prohibited.
Police make arrests after pet lion attacks child in residential neighborhood of Karachi
https://arab.news/b5nf6
Police make arrests after pet lion attacks child in residential neighborhood of Karachi
- Police say case registered against a group of people and two arrested, owner of lion still at large
- According to estimates, over 200 lions are being kept as pets by residents of the port city
Senior Daesh spokesperson in Pakistan’s custody— state media
- Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP, has been listed as “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by Washington
- Azzam, who oversaw banned outfit’s media operations, was arrested in May while attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan, says state media
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani authorities have taken into custody Sultan Aziz Azzam, a senior member of Daesh who used to oversee the banned outfit’s media operations and headed its “Al Azzam” outlet, state media reported on Thursday.
The state-run Pakistan TV Digital reported that Azzam was a senior member of Daesh regional affiliate ISKP, who hails from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and is a graduate of the University of Nangarhar where he studied Islamic jurisprudence.
The state media said he joined ISKP in 2016 and later became a prominent member of its leadership council.
“He was arrested in May 2025 while attempting to cross from Afghanistan into Pakistan,” Pakistan TV Digital reported, citing intelligence sources.
In November 2021, Washington listed Azzam as a “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” (SDGT). The move bars American citizens from engaging in transactions with persons designated as SDGTs.
According to a report on the UN Security Council’s website, Azzam has played an “instrumental role” in spreading Daesh’s violent ideology, glorifying and justifying “terrorist acts.”
“Building on his former experience as an Afghan journalist, his activity as ISIL-K’s spokesperson has increased ISIL-K’s visibility and influence among its followers,” the report states.
The report further states Azzam claimed responsibility on behalf of Daesh for the suicide attack near Hamid Karzai International Airport on Aug. 26, 2021, which killed at least 170 Afghans and 13 US service members and injured 150 more.
The development takes place amid tense relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, with Islamabad alleging militants use Afghan soil to carry out attacks against Pakistan. Kabul denies the allegations.
Tensions surged in October when Pakistan and Afghanistan engaged in fierce border clashes, claiming to have killed dozens of soldiers of the other side.
Pakistan has urged the Afghan Taliban-led government to take “decisive action” against militants it says operate from its soil. Afghanistan says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security challenges.
