A man who illegally kept a lion on the rooftop of his house in Iqbal Town has been arrested after a selfie with the wild animal went viral on social media. The Punjab Wildlife Department raided the premises, recovered the lion, and registered a case against Azhar Mehmood for keeping a lion without a license.
The raid was carried out after a video surfaced online, prompting swift action under new legislation enacted by the Punjab government on the orders of Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif. Under this strict law, keeping a lion without a valid license or publicly displaying wild animals is a criminal offense punishable by up to seven years in prison and a fine of Rs. 5 million.
Officials revealed that Mehmood had confined the lion in an illegal cage on his rooftop, which did not meet the prescribed safety standards. The Wildlife Department took action under Sections 10-B and 12 of the Punjab Wildlife Act, which strictly prohibits the illegal possession and public exhibition of wild animals.
Following the successful operation, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz Sharif praised the Wildlife Department team, emphasizing that there will be no leniency for violators of wildlife laws. Senior Provincial Minister Maryam Aurangzeb reaffirmed the government's commitment to strictly enforcing regulations on wild animals and birds to prevent such incidents in the future.