Zubair Qureshi
President Dr Arif Alvi and First Lady Samina Alvi on Tuesday visited the Marghazar Zoo of Islamabad to bid farewell to Kaavan, the elephant that was gifted to the President House back in 1985. Now this ‘presidential gift’ is on its way to Cambodia with the consent of the president and the first lady on Nov 29, Sunday.
Kaavan will be airlifted from Pakistan to Cambodia to the Asian elephants’ sanctuary where he will live a normal life in a thousands of acre national park with three female elephants.
Earlier on his arrival at the zoo, the president was received by the Adviser to PM on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam, Minister of State Zartaj Gul, Chairman of the Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB) Syed Mujtaba Hussain and the Austrian based animal rights group Four Paws’ Director of Project Dr Amir Khalil. Ambassador of Austria Nicolas Keller was also present there to greet the president and the first lady.
Following the orders of Islamabad High Court (IHC) in view of his improper care due to absence of natural habitat at the capital’s zoo, the government has decided to relocate the elephant to Cambodia and in this regard Four Paws has offered its services to make all the arrangements in collaboration with another animal rights group Free the Wild.
Speaking on the occasion, President Alvi said the outstanding judgment passed by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah was in line with the Islamic traditions of caring for animals and keeping them in an environment best suited to them. He said detaching young animals from their mothers was the biggest cause of their emotional distress.
The President expressed confidence that Kaavan would find happiness in Cambodia after being surrounded by his companion elephants.
President Alvi also appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Climate Change and Islamabad Wildlife Management Board in effective implementation of IHC’s order on relocation of Kaavan.
