Marghazar zoo incident: IHC orders Zartaj Gul, others to submit response till Sept 25
IHC chief justice says animals’ death in Marghzar Zoo a sad incident which shows how the country’s affairs are being run
August 30, 2020
ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Saturday directed Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul Wazir and Adviser to the Prime Minister for Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam, to submit their response against show-cause notices over the death of a lion and a lioness during their transfer from the zoo to a sanctuary, reported The News.
In the last hearing, the court had issued show-cause notices to Wazir, Aslam, the CDA chairman and other members of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) for contempt of court.
Earlier this month, a lion and lioness had died while being shifted from Marghazar Zoo to a sanctuary. A video obtained by Geo News had showed mismanagement on part of the zoo officials as the staff could be seen in the video setting fire in the cage and using sticks to scare off the animal. However, the lion got frightened and confused instead.
During the hearing on Saturday, the CDA chairman submitted his reply and apologised unconditionally for the incident.
Chief Justice IHC Justice Athar Minallah said that the animals’ death in Marghzar Zoo was a sad incident which showed how the country’s affairs were being run.
“No one was ready to take responsibility of the mistreatment with animals,” he remarked, adding that everyone was accusing the lower staff of carelessness.
Justice Minallah added that the climate ministry had disconnected itself from the matter. “[There are some]officers who used to take the membership of IWMB but they never bothered to even attend its meetings,” the chief justice noted.
He added that several animals had disappeared from the zoo which was an embarrassing incident. “The national park has been destroyed,” he said, adding the court had not summoned anyone in person so far through a formal show-cause notice.
Wazir and Aslam’s lawyers asked the court to grant their clients time for the submission of comments.
To this, the bench directed them to submit their response before September 25.
