Daily Times

Recently, a dog was wrapped in a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) flag and then shot multiple times. In a video that went viral earlier this week, you can see the animal writhing in pain before it dies.

The two men involved in torturing and eventually killing the animal have been apprehended by the Bannu police. The only silver lining in this particular case is that the Bannu police worked at an admirable speed to find the two men who had made the video and take them into custody.

In a country where we will not spare men, animals are not on anyone’s priority list. And this is not the first time an animal has paid for someone’s political leanings, and it most likely will not be the last. Just a couple of weeks ago, donkeys in the country became targets after Imran Khan compared Pakistan Muslim League — Nawaz (PML-N) followers to the docile animals.

Legally, there isn’t a lot that can happen to someone that hurts animals at this point in time. The one applicable law was left to us by the British and dates back to 1890. There is a Bill on the table addressing the issue, but it was only brought to the fore in 2018, and it remains to be seen when it will become a law. The Bill seeks to increase the penalty for cruelty to Rs. 300,000 from Rs. 200.

Some scientific studies tell us that people who torture animals have psychological problems. Researchers will have a field day making a study out of some Pakistanis. The outrage on social media makes one believe that animal cruelty is not a real issue in the country — most people are decent. But the reality is that a walk down any street will show you just how comfortable animals feel. A slight sound makes them bounce out of sight.

It is unfortunate that we have come to a point where after being called unsafe for women, children and all sorts of other segments, we are now eyeing the position of the country unsafe for animals.  *

Published in Daily Times, July 29^th 2018.