ISLAMABAD: After continuous crackdowns on sellers of unhygienic meat in Punjab and rumours that meat of dead animals was also being sold in the province, the Islamabad capital territory administration has started considering amending the food act.

Moreover, the absence of a slaughterhouse in Islamabad has increased the possibility of unhygienic and even Haram meat being sold in the city.

It is pertinent to mention that for the last few weeks crackdowns have been launched in Punjab after reports that meat of dead animals was being sold by butchers in the province.

There were also reports that meat of donkeys was sold in the butcher shops besides being used in some restaurants.

The ICT administration last week held a consultation to look into the matter. The consultationwaspresidedoverbyDeputyCommissioner Mushtaq Ahmed and attended by officials of all the departments concerned.

`The issue was taken up because a majority of the citizens are worried about it. On the other hand, the current food act envisages aminor punishment against those who are involved in the sale of unhygienic meat,` Mr Mushtaq told Dawn.

At the moment, there is just three months` punishment or a fine of a few hundred rupees or both for anyone found selling unhygienic meat, he said.

Another important matter discussed during the consultation was that the federal capital has no slaughterhouse due to which meat is supplied to the city from outside, he said.

`Mostly meat is brought to Islamabad from Rawat or Sihala so during the consultation it was decided to toughen the mechanism to check butchers from selling unhygienic meat, he said.

In reply to a question, the DC said there was a need to amend the food law and increase the punishment and make it a non-bailable offence.

`However, the amendment to the law cannot be carried out in a single day. It is a time-consuming exercise and after drafting the law it has to be sent to the ministry of law for a review,` he said.

After getting the clearance from the ministry, the law can be promulgated through a presidential ordinance, he said.

`Besides the meat of Haram animals, the sale of unhygienic meat is also a big issue for us because it can be injurious for health. We are working on it and will hold another consultation within a week to finalise a strategy,` he said.

When contacted, healthy expert Dr JavedAkram said in Pakistan 90 per cent of gastro diseases were caused by unhygienic food and water.

`Unhygienic meat can become a reason for as many as 38 diseases, including liver disorders. Animals die from different diseases and their meat becomes infected,` he said.

Moreover, after slaughtering animals their meat is kept in such a condition that it becomes unhygienic. There are unregistered slaughterhouses which are never checked. There should be registered slaughterhouses and proper inspection should be ensured, he said.

Naeem Ahmed, a resident of the federal capital, said because of the continuous reports in the electronic media about the sale of meat of dead animals and donkeys, his wife had stopped cooking mutton and beef.

He said the government should ensure that only hygienic and properly slaughtered meat is sold in the market. Moreover, the capital city should have its own slaughterhouse, he said.

It may be mentioned that in 2010 the Capital Development Authority (CDA) decided to establish a slaughterhouse in Sector H-9 but the project could not be completed.

When contacted, CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid said though work on the project was going on, some citizens approached the Islamabad High Court (IHC) terming it not environment friendly.

`We have been trying to resolve the issue through negotiations and assuring the citizens that the project would not affect people`s health,` he said.