Operation Ark - Update

16 September 2021

You did it – we did it!!!

The Nowzad charity is beyond happy to confirm that Operation Ark was a roaring success in its mission to rescue both ‘people and animals’ from Kabul.

And we need to thank YOU for making this possible. The Nowzad family of supporters were instrumental in making this possible. THANK YOU.

The Nowzad staff crossed the border from Afghanistan to Pakistan and into the safety of the British High Commission in Islamabad on the 11th September.

It is not lost on us that 9/11 is the reason that Pen was first sent to Afghanistan and why Nowzad as a rescue organisation started. The anniversary 20 years later is the day that our dog and cat rescue in Afghanistan officially ended with the successful evacuation of the Nowzad staff.

Now with the staff safely in Pakistan awaiting their visas to be processed and the 94 dogs and 68 cats doing really well in quarantine around the UK we are turning our attention to fundraising for the future of the Nowzad charity.

We are committed as you have been to the welfare of our staff and their resettlement in the UK along with the commitment to pay all quarantine and rehoming costs of our remaining dogs and cats.

And then we will consider the future of Nowzad. With you by our side we have the ability to take on animal welfare issues in a new country or even return to Afghanistan should the Taliban not be the Taliban of old. Who knows?

Your generous support always was truly appreciated by the team. But now as Pen, Nowzad founder states;

‘We have been blown away by the love and compassion shown by the Nowzad family of supporters. We truly owe them a debt of gratitude that we will never ever be able to repay’.

Thank you everyone.

So now we will concentrate on resettling our staff in the UK (once they have arrived from Islamabad) and their retraining and skills and language upgrading along with rehoming all dogs and cats that arrived without a forever home whilst determining the future of animal welfare wherever that might be for Nowzad.

Just a few of the challenges that we face moving forward!

Our working animal programme is currently suspended whilst we work out how to register our programme with the new Taliban (IEA) government. BUT our donkeys and horses + Jaja and David are being cared for.

To donate today to the future of Nowzad and for the resettlement of our staff and the care of the animals in quarantine please visit our donation page.

Coming soon to the Nowzad shop will be the full range of Operation Ark merchandise.

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Imagine finding an animal utterly resigned to its fate. That’s what Nowzad’s Chief Vet Dr Reshad faced with ‘Maverick’ in February, amidst the rubble of one of Afghanistan’s notoriously bleak brick kilns. Numbers vary but there are around 600 kilns across Kabul alone, where horses are often worked to death. [💔] Totally emaciated and covered with wounds, Maverick has spent many weeks since under the intensive care of our vets, being hoisted up on to his feet every day and slowly regaining his