A Constitutional Bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the Sindh government and other relevant authorities to submit detailed reports within four weeks on the growing stray dog problem and the non-availability of vaccines under the provincial rabies control programme.
The directive was issued during the hearing of a petition filed by Advocate Tariq Mansoor, who highlighted the continued failure of authorities to control stray dogs despite earlier court orders. The two-member bench was headed by Justice Yousuf Ali Saeed.
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During the proceedings, the petitioner informed the court that the situation had worsened across Sindh, with at least 22 people losing their lives due to dog bites in 2025, while nearly 29,000 individuals were injured in separate incidents.
He said that children, elderly citizens, and residents of low-income areas were the most affected.
The petitioner’s counsel reminded the bench that in 2024, the Sindh High Court had already directed provincial and local authorities to take effective measures to control the stray dog population and properly implement the rabies control programme.
However, these directions were allegedly ignored, and no meaningful progress was made.
READ: Karachi reports 1,125 dog bite cases in first six days of 2026
He stressed that the court had earlier emphasized humane population control methods, including sterilization and vaccination of stray dogs, instead of mass killing.
Despite this, authorities failed to allocate resources or ensure the availability of vaccines at government hospitals and health centers.
The counsel also pointed out that the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation’s helpline 1093, which was set up to receive complaints related to stray dogs, had become non-functional. This, he said, left citizens with no official channel to report dangerous situations or dog bite incidents.
The bench questioned the government lawyer over the repeated non-compliance with court orders. In response, the law officer claimed that rabies vaccines were available and assured the court that a comprehensive report would be obtained from the concerned director general and other departments.
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Justice Yousuf Ali Saeed observed that the issue involved public safety and could not be taken lightly.
He stated that the court would examine all aspects of the matter once the reports were submitted, including the availability of vaccines, the effectiveness of municipal services, and the implementation of humane control measures.
