KARACHI: A team of Four Paws, a Vienna-based animal welfare organization, will soon arrive in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi to oversee the shifting of an elephant, Madhubala, to a new sanctuary at the city’s Safari Park, Four Paws said on Tuesday.
Madhubala, a female elephant, has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April 2023 after her companion, elephant Noor Jehan, passed away from illness. She is to be shifted to a sanctuary in Safari Park, where she will be in the company of two other elephants.
Madhubala, one of only three captive elephants alive in Pakistan, was brought to the South Asian country with three other elephants from Tanzania in 2009, with Four Paws experts saying earlier this year that solitary confinement had taken a strong toll on her.
Animal rights activists have long campaigned against the plight of animals in Pakistan, especially elephants, and demanded they be shifted to “species-appropriate” locations such as Safari Park.
“This marks a significant milestone in the efforts to ensure a safe and secure species-appropriate environment for African elephant Madhubala, who will have a chance to be united with her sisters Malika and Sonia,” Four Paws said in a statement, adding that the adaptation work at Karachi’s Safari Park had reached its final stage.
“As part of the final preparations, the focus now lies on completing the landscaping of the elephant enclosure at Safari Park, finalizing enrichment features, and continuing the necessary training of the three elephants, including resuming crate training for Madhubala.”
In addition to these tasks, complex logistical arrangements are being finalized and the exact relocation date of Madhubala will be announced in the coming weeks, according to Four Paws.
Madhubala will be carried from the Karachi Zoo to the Safari Park in a huge transport crate. The elephant is currently being trained to enter and exit the crate by herself and sit inside it.
Team of global experts to arrive in Karachi to supervise relocation of elephant Madhubala to Safari Park
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Team of global experts to arrive in Karachi to supervise relocation of elephant Madhubala to Safari Park
- Madhubala has been in solitary confinement at Karachi Zoo since April last year after her companion, Noor Jehan, passed away from illness
- Animal rights activists in Pakistan have long demanded that animals, especially elephants, be shifted to ‘species-appropriate’ sanctuaries
Pakistan arrests suspect arriving from Cambodia amid crackdown on human smuggling
- Suspect worked at an “online fraud company” in Cambodia, later started smuggling people from Pakistan, says FIA
- Pakistan has intensified crackdown against human smugglers after hundreds of migrants drowned near Pylos in 2023
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) on Sunday said it had arrested a key suspect involved in smuggling humans who had arrived from Cambodia, alleging he was also part of an international fraud network.
The suspect, identified as Zainullah, was arrested by FIA officials when he arrived in the southern port city of Karachi from Cambodia.
Zainullah had traveled from Pakistan to Cambodia in September 2024, a press release issued by the agency said.
“He worked at an online fraud company in Cambodia and later became involved as an agent in recruiting individuals from Pakistan,” the FIA said.
The FIA said it recovered images of multiple individuals’ passports, payment receipts and bank transaction records after extracting data from Zainullah’s phone.
It said the suspect received money through personal bank accounts and a cryptocurrency account.
“The suspect has been handed over to the FIA Anti-Human Trafficking Circle, Karachi, for further legal proceedings,” the FIA said.
“Further investigation is underway.”
Pakistan intensified action against illegal migration in 2023 after hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank off the Greek town of Pylos, one of the deadliest boat disasters in the Mediterranean.
Authorities say they continue to target networks sending citizens abroad through dangerous routes, following heightened scrutiny at airports and a series of arrests involving forged documents.
Pakistan’s interior ministry said this week illegal migration to Europe has declined by 47 percent this year after its nationwide crackdown, saying that more than 1,700 human smugglers have been arrested in 2025.
