Closure of Islamabad Zoo is injustice to the people of Islamabad who should not be punished for the incompetence of the authorities, according to some representatives of traders.

The zoo is a source of entertainment to thousands of people of Islamabad and they should not be deprived of it, said Traders Action Committee Islamabad.

They further said that an FIR has been lodged against those responsible for the death of lions at the zoo. However, the accused have not been arrested so far though they did not even acquired bail from the court. They urged Islamabad police to put the accused behind bars.

They said that the Marghzaar Zoo, which was later renamed as Islamabad Zoo, was primarily the responsibility of the Islamabad Metropolitan Corporation (IMC). The corporation had inherited it from the CDA after devolution on formation of local government in Islamabad.

Besides many departments, the zoo also went to IMC. However, the financial powers did not and the corporation was left cash strapped. The IMC failed to handle the zoo and take proper care of the animals. The zoo was then handed over to the Ministry of Climate Change and then to Islamabad Wildlife Management Board (IWMB).

The traders claimed that the NGO in control of the IWMB destroyed the zoo through a conspiracy by killing animals. They asked the government to take notice of the conspiracy, he said urging it to issue orders for the restoration of the zoo and bring to justice those responsible for the deaths of animals and mismanagement of the facility.

They asserted that the zoo should be handed over to CDA, which was running it since it was established in 1978. They maintained that the IMC has completely failed to run the local government system. As long as this system has been with CDA, it has been running somewhat better.