The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has decided that anyone, who participates in the killing of stray dogs in Pakistan, and in particular in Islamabad, will be penalized by the court and may be imprisoned. The move represents one of the landmark legal moves towards the humane treatment of stray animals in the federal capital.
The verdict was given by Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro who heard a petition developed by animal rights activist Nelofar, via her lawyer, Altamush Saeed. As pointed out in the petition, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had promised earlier that it would implement the Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, and Release (TNVR) program, but stray dogs were still being killed. TNVR is a globally acknowledged and moral way of handling the stray dogs population without involving the use of lethal means.
In the hearing, Nelofar provided photographic evidence of the bodies of stray dogs were shipped in a CDA car. This was in conflicts with the previous assertions of the CDA that there was no stray dog killing in Pakistan that was being supervised by them. A witness, Dr. Ghani Ikram, also testified that he had observed a number of dead dogs being picked up in a CDA truck and when confronted the driver got away.
To this, IHC called the Director of Municipal Administration (DME) of the CDA to clarify events. The court instructed the government to have all of the stray dogs in Islamabad immunized and treated in a humanly controlled way rather than killing them.
Justice Soomro directed that once more any additional case of stray dog killing is reported in Pakistan, FIR should be registered against the culprits. The next hearing is scheduled through the adjournment of the case to October 27, 2025.
 has decided that anyone, who participates in the killing of stray dogs in Pakistan, and in particular in Islamabad, will be penalized by the court and may be imprisoned. The move represents one of the landmark legal moves towards the humane treatment of stray animals in the federal capital.){kind=link}