Nadia Afgan slams Punjab government for ignoring stray dog, tree protection laws

Actor Nadia Afgan posted a six-minute video to her Instagram page on Thursday, criticising the Punjab government for failing to adhere to its own laws and court-imposed bans. In the video, she speaks specifically about the continued killing of stray dogs and the cutting down of trees in Punjab, particularly during peak smog season.

Both practices have been banned by the Punjab government and the Lahore High Court. The LHC has prohibited the killing of stray dogs and ordered restrictions on tree cutting. However, despite these directives, little change appears to have been observed on the ground.

In the video, Afgan, an advocate for animal rights, expresses concern over what she describes as a prevalent cultural mindset in Pakistan that promotes cruelty towards dogs. She questions, “How can you kill Allah’s creatures, especially one that has so much love and loyalty towards human beings despite the abuse they are subjected to by us?” She adds that she does not know why this belief has been “forcefully adopted in our culture.”

“The problem is that we have convinced ourselves that dogs are some otherworldly creatures that need to be shot on sight,” she says.

Despite the Lahore High Court’s ban, Afgan states that the government is providing “vans” and “guns” to people for killing dogs, and that medical universities are reportedly involved in inhumane practices.

She also points to the lack of institutional response mechanisms. There is currently no centralised helpline to report stray dog concerns, and the Police Animal Rescue Centre remains largely inactive.

At one point, Afgan says she “doesn’t understand what to say about the Punjab government.” She reads out a report stating that the Punjab government “is not following its orders.” The orders in question pertain to providing birth control and vaccinations for stray dogs. The Animal Birth Control (ABC) Policy 2021 lays out a comprehensive framework to humanely manage the stray dog population through vaccination, sterilisation, tagging, registration, and rehabilitation.

Beyond the killing of stray dogs, Afgan also raises concern over the illegal cutting of trees despite court orders and government bans. She references the Sindh High Court’s emphasis on preserving trees, particularly in urban areas like Karachi, to mitigate environmental consequences.

She mentions a recent incident in which a banyan tree near Jain Mandir, believed to be around a century and a half old, was cut down to make room for parking.