- Murtaza Wahab says dog bite cases are increasing in Karachi.
- Majority supports immediate cull campaign: mayor.
- The mayor opposes neutering as a slow solution to the problem.
Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab on Wednesday called for the culling of stray dogs and opposed neutering as a slow solution as authorities and hospitals reported a sharp increase in dog bite cases.
His comments come as data showed over 800 cases of dog bites in Karachi during the first five days of 2026.
Addressing reporters, Karachi’s mayor said that immediate action to curb rising cases required culling of stray dogs.
“Neutering would take time. Dog bite cases are on the rise in the city,” he said, adding that a small group opposed to culling repeatedly approached the courts for a stay order.
Karachi’s mayor noted that the majority supported immediate action and called for a final, decisive decision.
Officials have said around 850 cases were reported in Karachi in the first five days of the year alone, with Indus Hospital and Civil Hospital reporting 300 cases each, while Jinnah Hospital recorded over 250 cases.
Dr. Aftab Gohar, in-charge of the dog bite clinic at Indus Hospital, said a 41-year-old man had to have a finger amputated due to severe tissue damage and disrupted blood flow due to a dog bite.
He added that most cases were reported from Korangi, Hub Chowki, Baldia Town, Landhi and Gadap Town.
Dr. Gohar said all patients were given rabies vaccines at Indus Hospital.
However, he said that rabies is almost always fatal once symptoms appear in the affected individual.
The issue has also drawn political criticism as Jamaat-e-Islami Karachi Emir Munim Zafar attacked Karachi’s mayor over dog bites and deaths from open manholes and sewage in the city.
He said the Muttahida Qaumi Movement had also contributed to Karachi’s decline over the decades, alleging that the party was playing 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.
