Majesty in Chains, Conscience in Silence

Asem Mustafa Awan

Islamabad: In the packed streets of Lahore, a lion kept as a private pet broke free last week and mauled five people, including women and children. The tragedy shocked the nation—but it was far from an isolated incident. It was the latest flare in a long, gruesome record of how Pakistan treats its animals: with indifference, impunity, and often, unchecked cruelty.

This lion—one of over 500 reportedly held captive across Punjab—was not in a reserve but in a residential area, chained within earshot of playgrounds and schools. Wild, majestic, and unpredictable, it was reduced to a status symbol. That its instinct turned violent is no surprise. This was not a freak incident—it was the result of predictable neglect.

Years earlier, a pair of lions were being moved out of Islamabad’s infamous Marghazar Zoo on court orders. The transfer, done without professional handlers or proper enclosures, turned fatal. The lions suffocated and burned to death in a transport cage as smoke poured out and chaos unfolded. Videos of their cries shocked international audiences. Within Pakistan, it was another forgotten story in a country numb to avoidable death.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/drenched-in-poverty-drowned-in-neglect/

But it isn’t just lions. Pakistan’s record on animal welfare is appalling across species. Kaavan, dubbed the “world’s loneliest elephant,” spent over three decades in solitary confinement before a global outcry, led by Four Paws and celebrity advocates, forced action. His relocation to a Cambodian sanctuary was a rare success in a grim saga.

Others were not so fortunate. Noor Jehan, a female elephant in Karachi Zoo, collapsed and lay helpless for days. Footage of her companion nudging her limp body drew global attention—but too late. Noor Jehan died, followed shortly by her grieving sister Sonia. Their deaths were not sudden—they were the result of years of neglect.

In Lahore, a cassowary—once an exotic marvel—has spent over fifty years in a cage. The same man who first brought his child to see it now brings his grandchild. The bird has never known flight, nor freedom.

In another gut-wrenching incident, a baby camel cried real tears as its front leg was hacked off for straying into the fields of a feudal landlord. Villagers filmed the animal wailing, its wound wrapped in cloth, while the culprit—wealthy and well-connected—walked free. That month, another camel was bled to death for similar trespass. In rural Pakistan, animals suffer as the land does: burned in feuds, punished for crossing invisible lines, while the powerful remain untouched.

This isn’t about isolated incidents. It is systemic rot. Exotic pet ownership in Pakistan has exploded, driven by vanity and enabled by broken laws. Licenses are issued without oversight. Enforcement is weak. Wildlife departments occasionally stage raids for headlines, but the “rescued” often quietly return to captivity.

The elite now keep lions, tigers, wolves—even pythons. These creatures are locked in garages, chained on rooftops, or drugged for wedding photos and social media videos. It is not majesty. It is madness.

Read More: https://thepenpk.com/when-mountains-burn/

Meanwhile, Pakistan remains a country where over 45% of its population lives below the poverty line, and youth unemployment exceeds 22%, according to the World Bank and local research bodies. Where children drown in filth-ridden canals trying to escape the heat because they can’t afford electricity. And yet, lions are fed raw meat behind gilded gates, elephants rot behind concrete bars, and baby animals are mutilated by landlords for grazing in the wrong field.

The truth is, this is not just about animal cruelty it is a mirror reflecting societal collapse. It is about how impunity scales from men to systems. How power is flaunted through the suffering of the voiceless human or animal.

Change is long overdue. First, a total ban on private ownership of exotic animals must be enforced without exception. Second, wildlife laws must be rewritten to reflect modern ethics and realities, not colonial templates. Third, an independent animal welfare authority must be established, with legal powers and funding to act without political interference.

Every city needs trained wildlife response teams. Every zoo must be audited—and those that fail should be shut down. Sanctuaries, not cages, must define public interaction with animals. And above all, education must begin in schools so future generations understand that cruelty is not culture it is decay.

The Lahore attack wasn’t about one lion. It was about a society that cages wild beasts, burns them alive in transport, and watches baby camels bleed in fields. It was about a government that lets it all happen. If there is any soul left in this country, it must now roar—not just in grief, but in resolve.

Every time a lion breaks free, every time an elephant dies with eyes open and help too late, the state is on trial. Its elite, drunk on impunity, flaunt power with the very symbols of wild freedom. They try to cage nobility, thinking it reflects on them. It doesn’t. A lion chained is still regal and commands awe. Chaining a lion doesn’t bestow majesty—it exposes the hollowness of those who need it to feel mighty.

Asem Mustafa Awan has extensive reporting experience with leading national and international media organizations. He has also contributed to reference books such as the Alpine Journal and the American Alpine Journal, among other international publications.

The article is the writer’s opinion, it may or may not adhere to the organization’s editorial policy.