Islamabad — once considered a symbol of peace, order, and cleanliness — is now under siege by an unexpected threat: packs of stray dogs roaming freely across streets, parks, and neighborhoods. With no effective culling or sterilization campaigns from the Capital Development Authority (CDA) or other concerned departments, these animals have taken over the city, especially during nighttime, attacking motorcyclists, pedestrians, and even children in groups.
This growing problem isn’t just about fear and physical injury — it opens the door to a much more dangerous and deadly disease: Rabies.
Rabies is one of the oldest known diseases in human history, with traces found in records dating back over 4,000 years. The word “Rabies” comes from the Latin term Rebere, which means “to rage” or “to be furious.” Caused by the Lyssavirus, rabies primarily infects warm-blooded animals — especially dogs — and spreads to humans through bites.
A staggering report from the past decade revealed that nearly 17,400 people around the world die annually due to rabies, with 95% of these deaths occurring in Africa and Asia. Alarmingly, 40% of those who died were children under the age of 15.
The symptoms of rabies are horrifying. It starts with fever and headaches, then escalates to agitation, confusion, and muscle paralysis. One of its most terrifying features is hydrophobia — a crippling fear of water — followed by eventual coma and death. Once the symptoms appear, rabies is almost always fatal.
In Pakistan, especially in provinces like Punjab and Sindh, cases of stray dog bites are on the rise, but inaction persists. Islamabad, the nation’s capital, is now witnessing similar dangers while authorities continue to turn a blind eye. The absence of an organized stray dog control program is putting thousands of lives at risk every single day.
Do we really have to wait until a child of a minister or bureaucrat is bitten before action is taken?
It is high time the authorities took meaningful steps — not just to eliminate stray dogs cruelly — but to adopt global best practices, such as mass sterilization, vaccination, and safe relocation of these animals. Many developed nations have succeeded in controlling rabies without violence. Why can’t we?
Public awareness, government action, and a humane but firm policy are urgently needed before Islamabad, too, becomes a city where animals rule the streets — and humans fear to walk them.
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.