Head of Prime Minister’s Strategic Reforms Unit Salman Sufi has announced that the government is working on Pakistan’s first animal welfare law. He made the announcement while giving details of reforms launched by PM Shehbaz Sharif at a news conference in Islamabad on Thursday.

He added that a hotline has been established to report animal cruelty. Citizens can call 1819 to report animal abuse.

An animal ethics committee will be established. Abusers will have to face penalties for violations of the law; shooting and poisoning of animals has also been banned. In addition, the testing of animals in universities has been banned. The pet market will also be regulated.

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The law will be implemented in Islamabad and will then be extended to the entire country, said Salman Sufi while talking to The Current. He added that all the provinces are on board.

Read more- Dogs being abducted, tortured for medical experiments

In June, videos and pictures from Pir Mehr Ali Shah Arid Agriculture University (PMAS-AAUR) in Rawalpindi went viral on social media in which dogs were seen in inhumane conditions.

According to media reports, veterinarian students were snatching healthy dogs and experimented on them in brutal, immoral, and terrifying ways.