Because of a large number of stray dogs in many areas of Islamabad, both urban and rural, the residents are in a constant trouble as the authorities concerned are not taking measures to eliminate them. The dogs can be seen on roads and streets of many areas, particularly Iqbal Town, Guri Town, Sohan, New Shakaryal and Model Town Humak. “The number of stray dogs in our area has been increasing for the last several months,” said Muhammad Faheem, a resident of Shan. He said there seemed no proper planning to purge the area of the stray dogs. Rehana Bibi, another resident of New Shakaryal, said she feared the dogs ever since she had been attacked one night. “I keep my doors locked at all times and never allow my children to go out for playing,” she said. “The dogs are usually seen around garbage heaps during the day, while they roam on roads and streets at night,” said another resident. He said the dogs usually moved in small groups and became violent when they came across pedestrians. The stray dogs come out on to the streets mostly later in the evening and attack almost everyone, said Kamran Khan, a resident of Iqbal Town. He said that in the past the authorities had taken action, but still a large number of dogs could be seen in the locality. It might be a trivial issue for the authorities but it really is a serious problem for the people, remarked another person.
