DERA GHAZI KHAN: After the body of a two-year old cub of the endangered Indus dolphin was found near the Shero Jadeed, Arainwala Siper, experts have raised serious concern about the safety of the rare mammal species, pointing out lax enforcement of the fishing contracts and wildlife conservation laws.
The body of the Indus dolphin cub was spotted by locals in the DG Khan police station limits, close to ‘pattan’, a spot regularly used by locals to cross the river Indus by boats.
A local lawyer, Advocate Atta Ullah, told Dawn that he personally visited the area and after witnessing the cub’s body, informed the wildlife department officials about it so that they may take measures to prevent such incidents in the future.
He said the contractors in the area allegedly use banned nets and other illegal fishing techniques, which lead to Indus dolphin deaths. Some fishing contractors used banned nets to catch Palla fish which also trap dolphins, resulting in their deaths, he adds.
Former senior conservation officer at WWF-Pakistan, Umer Waqas, who examined the cub’s body, says the tragic death of the two-year-old female sub-adult Indus Dolphin raises serious concern for the conservation of the rare freshwater species.
He is of the opinion that as there were no visible external injury marks on the body, the cub’s death appears to be a case of suffocation resulting from entanglement in the fishing nets, which prevented the dolphin from reaching the surface to breathe.
He says that this tragic incident highlights the lax enforcement of the licence agreements among fishing contractors. He stresses the need for strict enforcement of these agreements as this specific stretch of the river Indus has officially been designated a sanctuary for the Indus Dolphin, to protect this rare species.
He demands stricter monitoring and rigorous enforcement of the existing conservation laws on the ground, saying that for the long-term conservation research, DNA sampling of the dolphin cub’s remains is essential.
Highlighting a social media footage showing mishandling of the cub’s carcass, he says it underscores a crucial gap in protocols. He says that as a national treasure of Pakistan, the Indus dolphin deserves dignified handling, while there should be strict investigative procedures to probe into the incident, to know whether the cub was found alive or dead.
Newly-appointed Wildlife Deputy Chief Ranger Amir Niazi, says the matter will be thoroughly investigated, after which legal proceedings would be initiated.
He adds that a team has also been dispatched to the site to record evidence and retrieve the carcass for an autopsy, to determine the cause of the Indus dolphin’s death.
Local wildlife buffs questioned the working of the wildlife department field teams as the department has to usually rely on the account of the residents of the area whenever such incidents happen.
Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2026
