Karachi to hold its first dolphin show

KARACHI, Pakistan — The people of Pakistan's biggest metropolis are in for a treat – four dolphins and two sea lions arriving from Russia will perform at Karachi's Maritime Museum this October.

It's the first time Karachi's seen anything like this – for the dolphins to have a home, the Maritime Museum has to build a pool before they arrive in mid-September.

Organizers have been planning the show for two years, said Mustafa Kamal CEO of Talent Brokers International. He's largely responsible for bringing the dolphins to Karachi, and explained that the city's volatile security situation prevented them from bringing the dolphins to city earlier.

Speaking to media earlier today, Kamal said that he hoped that the dolphin shows would show the world that Pakistanis are by nature friendly people. “At the same time, these shows will provide our people diversity from their routine lives and will serve as a great opportunity to show the grace, agility and friendliness of dolphins through their exciting performances,” Kamal added.

According to Pakistan's provincial minister for environment, the dolphin show "will also assure the Pakistanis and the world that Karachi has a very wholesome and people-oriented side to it to it and all is not just crime and insecurity."

It's a noble effort– Karachi has been beleaguered with ethnic violence. At least 138 people, including officers of intelligence agencies, and women have been killed in the month of July alone, bringing this year's death toll to 1,183 people who have died in incidents of targeted killings.

The dolphins will play in Karachi for 45 days, and then move on to Lahore.