ISLAMABAD: In defiance of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) orders, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan has allowed cattle market in Sector I-11.

The IHC in its ruling last week ordered shifting of the market from its present location in I-11 to I-12/2. Khan chaired a high-level meeting with the relevant departments which was attended mainly by ICT administration and Islamabad police officials.

The meeting was called to review the security situation in the capital on Eidul Azha.

Briefing the minister on the city`s cattle market situation, ICT chief commissioner Zulfiqar Haider said the Capital Development Authority (CDA) had granted a contract for a cattle market in I-12 to a private party.

Haider also said the CDA`s enforcement wing had failed to properly manage the situa-tion and had allowed people to gather in I-11.

He said with almost 15,000 animals present at the I-11 market, an operation to move them to the location ordered by the IHC could not be initiated. Haider suggested that the cattle market be left as it is since Eid is only two days away, and the interior minister agreed.

However, a few hours prior to the meeting, the IHC on Tuesday reiterated its order that the I-11 sacrificial animal market was illegal and should be removed.

The directive was made by Judge Athar Minallah after hearing an appeal filed by traders stating that they should be allowed to sell sacrificial animals at the former cattle market site in I-11.

CDA spokesperson Ramzan Sajid said the CDA, ICT and Islamabad police were trying to contain business at the old site -in I-11so that traders would shift to the legal market in I-12.

Sajid expressed ignorance regarding the interior minister`s remarks allowing the ICTto let the I-11 market operate; however, it is unclear how long the interior minister has allowed the illegal market to function for.

The CDA auctioned the new site on September 10, at Rs100 million, where the temporary cattle market has been permitted from Zilhij 1 to 13, and the information was forwarded to both the ICT administration and the Islamabad police.

However, business at the I-11 site has continued unhindered, while business at the legal site in I-12 remains low.

The meeting chaired by the interior minister also discussed the crackdown on food outlets. The chief commissioner said that seven teams had been constituted and that 60 outlets had already been sealed.

Khan told the ICT administration that the campaign should continue and should be a part of their daily activities. He also directed the officials to avoid arrests and take all stakeholders on board.