PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday admitted for full hearing a writ petition filed against presence of a large number of rats in the provincial capital and sought comments from different officials, including the provincial health secretary, Peshawar deputy commissioner and sanitation authorities.

A bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth held preliminary hearing in the petition filed by Dr Hussain Ahmad Haroon, who requested the court to order the relevant authorities to clean the city of these rats, which were of the size of cats.

The petitioner stated that a child was recently killed after being bitten by a rat whereas several other persons had so far received injuries after being attacked by these rats.

Advocate Mian Saifullah Kakakhel appeared for the petitioner and contended that these rats had been roaming around in different parts of the provincial capital, including hospitals. He stated that these rats had become a threat to human lives, but the authorities concerned had turned a blind eye towards the problem.-Bureau Report