- Murtaza Wahab says dog bite cases are increasing in Karachi.
- Majority supports immediate sacrifice campaign: mayor.
- The mayor opposes castration as a slow solution to the problem.
Karachi Mayor Lawyer Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday called for the culling of stray dogs, opposing neutering as a slow solution, as authorities and hospitals reported a sharp rise in dog bite cases.
His comments come as data showed more than 800 cases of dog bites in Karachi during the first five days of 2026.
Speaking to reporters, the Karachi mayor said immediate action to curb the rise in cases required killing stray dogs.
“Neutering would take time. Dog bite cases are increasing in the city,” he said, adding that a small group opposed to culling had repeatedly approached the courts for stay orders.
Karachi’s mayor noted that the majority supported immediate action and called for a final and decisive resolution.
Authorities have said that around 850 cases were reported in Karachi alone during the first five days of the year, with Indus Hospital and Civil Hospital reporting 300 cases each, while Jinnah Hospital recorded more than 250 cases.
Dr Aftab Gohar, in-charge of the dog bite clinic at Indus Hospital, said a 41-year-old man had to have his finger amputated due to severe tissue damage and disruption of blood flow due to a dog bite.
He added that most of the cases were reported from Korangi, Hub Chowki, Baldia Town, Landhi and Gadap Town.
Dr Gohar said all patients were given anti-rabies vaccinations at the Indus Hospital.
However, he said rabies is almost always fatal once its symptoms appear in the affected individual.
The issue has also drawn political criticism when Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Emir Munim Zafar attacked the mayor of Karachi over dog bites and deaths from open sewers and sewage in the city.
He said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had also contributed to Karachi’s decline for decades, alleging that the party played from “both sides of the wicket”.
Last month, a boy from Jacobabad died of rabies at Indus Hospital after being bitten by a stray dog ​​two months earlier.
The death, reported on December 24, 2025, took the number of rabies-related deaths in Sindh last year to more than 21.
