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SC justice delivers powerful speech on animal captivity, enforced disappearances
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- Web Desk
- Jan 19, 2025

LAHORE: Supreme Court Justice Athar Minallah reflected on the pain caused by enforced disappearances. In his inaugural address at the “Conference on Climate Change and Animal Rights”, being held in Lahore, he also spoke on rights of prisoners, and the recent verdicts in this regard.
Justice Minallah highlighted the good work being done by the courts of Pakistan, against enforced disappearances and rights of prisoners. He also recalled his experiences with cases related to animal rights and captivity.
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In the beginning of his speech, he recalled how his school teachings about the lifestyles of animals were starkly different from their natural habitat. “We were taught the opposite of reality during our school days. What was taught in books about the lifestyle of lions was completely different from real life,” Justice Minallah said.
He recalled an anecdote from the time of General Zia-ul-Haq about captivity of elephants.
“The most authoritarian regime was during the era of General Zia,” he said, and continued, “Not far from here, people were tortured for holding political rallies in Lahore Fort.” He also spoke on the removal of former prime minister Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, adding, “The Supreme Court was also used in this [removal], and years later the Supreme Court accepted that [role] too.”
Justice Minallah said in his speech, “General Zia-ul-Haq requested the Sri Lankan government that his daughter wanted to have a baby elephant. This was a request from one government to the government of another country.”
“Elephants are also very emotional like us humans,” he said, and narrated the story of how a three-year-old baby elephant came to Pakistan from Sri Lanka and was “kept in the yard”.
“The child grew up and then they decided to build a zoo in Islamabad and keep him there. When I was thinking about this, I was also seeing cases of enforced disappearance. As a judge, I could understand the pain that someone feels when their loved one is forcibly disappeared,” Justice Minallah said.
The Supreme Court jurist also spoke on the recent verdicts of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) regarding enforced disappearances and on the rights of prisoners. “Many good things are also happening in Pakistan,” he added.
As a judge, it is difficult to talk about animal rights in a country where human rights are not followed.
Justice Athar Minallah
Justice Minallah said that the case about animal rights which he presided over in IHC was “challenging for him, and the decision that came at the end was the first of its kind.
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He said, “Islam talks about preservation of life, and it is not just about humans. All living things are important.” Justice Minallah said that before this case animal rights petitions had never come to any court in the country.
He condemned the practice of using animals as symbols of evil and reiterated the importance of respecting and protecting all forms of life.
