GUJAR KHAN: An African lion was recovered from a palatial house in Bewal town of Gujar Khan on Monday afternoon, police said.

According to SDPO Gujar Khan Syed Danial, on a getting a tip-off, a raiding team of the Wildlife Department Punjab and local police from Gujar Khan conducted a successful raid and recovered a two-year-old lion from the house of an expatriate in Bewal.

According to the officer, the entire family was living abroad and had handed over the premises to a family fromcentral Punjab which looked after the residence.

The raid was conducted under the supervision of Deputy Director Arfa Batool and Assistant Director Rizwana Aziz. DG Punjab Wildlife Coordinator Ehsan Ahmad Raja also participated in the raid. A heavy contingent of police from Kallar Syedan police station also took part in the raid.

The Wildlife Department carried out the raid after obtaining a search warrant from the local court while a veterinary doctor administered anesthesia to the animal.

On the request of the Wildlife Department, a case will be registered against the owners who resided in the United Kingdom.

Raja Ehsan, deputy director, Wildlife Department Rawalpindi, told Dawn that the lion was being kept unlawfully by Malik Tasadaq, a UK resident, while the house was being looked after by his employee Riasat Hussain.

According to the officer, the civil judge and area magistrate, Hasnat Aslam Gondal, ordered shifting of the animal to Ayub Park zoo in Rawalpindi. SDPO Syed Danial said a criminal case was being registered against the individual on the complaint of the wildlife authorities.

Published in Dawn, July 8th, 2025