LAHORE, Jan 19 (APP): Supreme Court Judge Justice Athar Minallah underscored the importance of recognizing animal rights as an acknowledgment of their intrinsic value.
Speaking at the Pakistan’s first International Animal and Environmental Rights Conference (PIAERC) 2025, held at a local hotel, here on Sunday, he explained that rights were fundamentally tied to the protection of inherent value, which applies not only to humans but also to animals, plants, and all forms of life.
Reflecting on his experiences as a student and a jurist, Justice Athar Minallah shared how his education and early life encounters shaped his perspective on justice and equity. He recounted childhood memories of learning about lions in the wild while hearing their roars from cages at the London Zoo, highlighting the contradictions between the natural world and human-imposed captivity. He recounted his academic journey, including studying Islamic jurisprudence, which emphasized the preservation of all forms of life as a fundamental principle.
Justice Athar Minallah explained that this philosophy was central not only in Islam but also in other major religions such as Judaism and Christianity. This understanding played a pivotal role in developing his jurisprudence on animal rights during his tenure at the Islamabad High Court.
Highlighting global historical injustices, Justice Athar Minallah discussed the dehumanization of people and its parallels to the treatment of animals. He cited cases like Ota Benga, a Congolese teenager exhibited in a zoo in 1906, and Sarah Baartman, a South African woman exploited in the 19th century. These examples, he argued, underscore the need to challenge perceptions and redefine relationships between humans and nonhuman species.
Justice Athar Minallah emphasized that humans have been the most destructive force in history, destroying habitats and ecosystems, often without regard for the consequences. Quoting Sir David Attenborough, he highlighted the irony of portraying gorillas as symbols of aggression, despite their inherently peaceful nature, while humans have historically been the aggressors.
During his tenure as Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (2018-2022), Justice Minallah faced the challenge of safeguarding fundamental rights amidst political and constitutional crises. He noted that courts have a critical responsibility to protect the rights of all beings, not just humans, and to ensure justice and equity prevail.
Justice Athar Minallah also called for a transformative shift in societal perspectives to acknowledge the inherent value of all life forms, emphasizing the need for a robust legal and ethical framework to safeguard their rights and ensure their protection.
The two-day conference gathered the stalwarts of animal rights. These included Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Ayesha Malik of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Justice Jawad Hassan of the Lahore High Court, President of the Lahore High Court Bar Association (LHCBA) Manzoor Butt, AHC Abuzar Niazi, co-organizer and former SCP clerk & NUST Faculty member Bilquees Bano Vardag, animal rights activists Aiza Qamar and artist Faryal Gauhar, journalists Sana Roger and Yusra Askari, Barrister Ahmad Pansota, Four Paws Project Director Dr Amir Khalil, WWF Pakistan’s Hamera Aisha, Legal Counsel for Animals Australia, Shatha Hamade, Animal rights activist Faizullah and Dr Gulbike Mirzaoglu.
In his keynote address Justice Minallah highly complimented International Animals Welfare Group, Four Paws—Project Director, Dr Amir Khalil and his team—for rescuing the ‘world’s loneliest elephant’ Kavaan from Islamabad’s Marghazar Zoo and transferring it to a sanctuary for elephants in Cambodia.
Justice Athar Minallah recalled the days when he was Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) and a number of petitions landed in the court regarding the welfare of animals and provision of various facilities in the Islamabad Zoo.
This was the time when Dr Amir Khalil and his team were already in the federal capital looking after Kavaan and coping with multiple challenges including the lack of cooperation from the government of the day and inappropriate conditions, they were working in, he said.
Justice Athar Minallah appreciated Dr Amir Khalil who was also sitting in the audience for giving a number of recommendations that helped the court have a clear picture of the deteriorating state of affairs at the zoo in general and the condition of the elephant in particular.
According to those recommendations, in Pakistan, there was no such place as could be termed suitable or friendly for an elephant’s permanent stay, said Justice Minallah adding an elephant being a social animal cannot live a natural life in isolation, let alone the dungeon for animals known as the Islamabad Zoo.
Not only the zoo lacked proper environment but the keepers were also without necessary training to handle wild animals like elephant, bear, leopard or lion, the judge said.
The matter was attracting international attention and at that time, the judge said, fortunately, the internationally-acclaimed animal rights activist and the Oscar-winning US singer Cher stepped in. She visited all the way from the US to Islamabad and offered the Four Paws team as well as the government of Pakistan that she was ready to bear expenses for the safe transportation of the elephant from Islamabad to a Cambodian sanctuary. Kavaan was thus flown out of Islamabad through a chartered cargo plane while Islamabad’s only zoo was shut down in compliance with the IHC order.
The conference organizers while thanking Justice Athar Minallah for his historic role in improving the situation for animals in Pakistan presented him ‘Champion Award’ which the judge handed over to Dr Amir Khalil in recognition of his dedication for the animals’ welfare in Pakistan. “Kindly present this award to Kavaan on my behalf and send me his photograph,” said Justice Athar Minallah.Dr Amir Khalil who was given an award separately, thanked Justice Athar Minallah and promised he would ‘convey’ the award to Kavaan.
He held that Justice Minallah’s landmark judgment played a crucial role in creating awareness about animals’ rights worldwide. It may be mentioned here that Justice Athar Minallah’s judgment regarding legal rights of animals has now become an international reference whenever and wherever the question of animals’ rights is raised.In that judgement Justice Minallah had ruled that a zoo, no matter how well-equipped, is no less than a concentration camp for living beings. He also ruled that animals had legal rights and “after surveying the jurisprudence developed in various jurisdictions it has become obvious that there is consensus that an ‘animal’ is not merely a ‘thing’ or ‘property.’”