Authorities seize 1,000 kilograms of donkey meat in Islamabad, arrest ‘foreign national'
The seizure was made during a joint raid by the Islamabad Food Authority (IFA), local police and the Islamabad district administration on a farmhouse in Tarnol area, according to the IFA.
Fifty live donkeys were also recovered from the site and an IFA team was destroying the meat under the supervision of Deputy Director Dr. Tahira Siddique.
Police have lodged a case against the arrested foreign national, who had been running the operation, and are looking for his local facilitators.
'A foreign national was arrested at the site which has been sealed and an investigation is underway,' Muhammad Nasir Butt, a spokesperson for the Islamabad district administration, told Arab News.
'We will conduct further raids as per the findings of the investigation and efforts are also underway to trace local individuals involved.'
Butt said the meat had been packed for 'export to a neighboring country.'
'So far, we have not found any traces of meat being used in the local restaurants, but administration is investigating the matter from multiple angles,' he added.
According to a police report seen by Arab News, the farmhouse had no authorization to process donkey meat or export live donkeys.
'Due to the absence of records for [processing] haram meat, and on the basis of its supply and sale, legal action shall be taken against concerned individuals under Sections 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety Act, 2021,' the report said.
Pakistan is frequently listed among countries with the highest number of donkey populations worldwide. The country's donkey population rose to 6 million in fiscal year 2024-25, which ended in June, compared to 5.9 million in 2023–24, according to the latest economic survey.
In May this year, Pakistan Customs had foiled an attempt to smuggle donkey hides worth approximately Rs80 million (around $283,800) to China. The staff deployed on the Risk Management Profiling System of the Karachi Customs
Collectorate detected a container number SEGU-3154225 cleared from the South Asia Pakistan Port (SAPT) terminal in Karachi, whose export documents showed 285 packages of leather products were being sent to China.
The animal's meat and hides are quite popular in China. Gelatin derived from donkey hides is highly sought after in China for its use in Ejiao, a traditional medicinal remedy. Several Chinese eateries sell donkey meat and burgers for consumption.
Dr. Siddique, who was part of the team that raided the farmhouse, said the availability of safe and quality food in Islamabad was the top priority of the IFA.
'We are enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against those who endanger public health,' she was quoted as saying by the IFA.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
2 hours ago
- Arab News
At least five arrested as Pakistan widens crackdown on illegal currency exchange, transfers
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five suspects involved in illegal currency exchange and transfer of money, the agency said on Sunday, amid a widening crackdown on black market currency traders. The development comes days after the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's powerful military-run spy agency, held a meeting in Islamabad with senior officials from currency exchange companies, amid growing concern over the rupee's depreciation, which fell to a 22-month low of Rs284.97 against the US dollar earlier this week. Maj. Gen. Faisal Naseer, a deputy chief of the ISI, chaired the session, according to Malik Bostan, who attended the discussion and is the chairman of the Exchange Companies Association of Pakistan (ECAP), told Arab News. The FIA had begun raiding informal, unregulated money transfer, or 'hundi' and 'hawala,' operators and currency smuggling networks. In a statement on Sunday, the agency said it was tightening the noose around networks involved currency smuggling and had conducted major operations in the southwestern Balochistan province that border Iran and Afghanistan. 'Five suspects involved in hawala, hundi and illegal currency exchange have been arrested,' the FIA said in a statement. 'The suspects were arrested in raids in different areas of Quetta and Chaman.' Pakistan operates a multi-tiered currency market, with rates diverging between the official interbank channel, the open market, and an unregulated 'grey market' where many traders and informal hawala dealers operate. Burdened by over $58 billion in imports in the last fiscal year, Pakistan faces severe inflationary pressure whenever the dollar strengthens. The rupee has lost 2 percent of its value since January, despite Pakistan's current account recording a surplus of $2.1 billion, according to central bank data. During the raids in Balochistan, the FIA said, officials seized 684,000 Pakistani rupees, 230.5 million Iranian rials, more than 135,000 Afghanis, 700 US dollars, 200 Saudi riyals and 150 Australian dollars. 'Cheque books, hawala-hundi receipts and bank deposit slips were also recovered from the suspects,' it said. 'The accused were involved in currency exchange without a license. They could not give a satisfactory answer to the authorities regarding the recovered currency.' The agency said it was further investigating the arrested suspects.
Arab News
6 hours ago
- Arab News
Authorities seize 1,000 kilograms of donkey meat in Islamabad, arrest ‘foreign national'
ISLAMABAD: Local administration in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad has seized around 1,000 kilograms of donkey meat from an illegal slaughterhouse and arrested a 'foreign national,' officials said on Sunday. The seizure was made during a joint raid by the Islamabad Food Authority (IFA), local police and the Islamabad district administration on a farmhouse in Tarnol area, according to the IFA. Fifty live donkeys were also recovered from the site and an IFA team was destroying the meat under the supervision of Deputy Director Dr. Tahira Siddique. Police have lodged a case against the arrested foreign national, who had been running the operation, and are looking for his local facilitators. 'A foreign national was arrested at the site which has been sealed and an investigation is underway,' Muhammad Nasir Butt, a spokesperson for the Islamabad district administration, told Arab News. 'We will conduct further raids as per the findings of the investigation and efforts are also underway to trace local individuals involved.' Butt said the meat had been packed for 'export to a neighboring country.' 'So far, we have not found any traces of meat being used in the local restaurants, but administration is investigating the matter from multiple angles,' he added. According to a police report seen by Arab News, the farmhouse had no authorization to process donkey meat or export live donkeys. 'Due to the absence of records for [processing] haram meat, and on the basis of its supply and sale, legal action shall be taken against concerned individuals under Sections 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the Islamabad Capital Territory Food Safety Act, 2021,' the report said. Pakistan is frequently listed among countries with the highest number of donkey populations worldwide. The country's donkey population rose to 6 million in fiscal year 2024-25, which ended in June, compared to 5.9 million in 2023–24, according to the latest economic survey. In May this year, Pakistan Customs had foiled an attempt to smuggle donkey hides worth approximately Rs80 million (around $283,800) to China. The staff deployed on the Risk Management Profiling System of the Karachi Customs Collectorate detected a container number SEGU-3154225 cleared from the South Asia Pakistan Port (SAPT) terminal in Karachi, whose export documents showed 285 packages of leather products were being sent to China. The animal's meat and hides are quite popular in China. Gelatin derived from donkey hides is highly sought after in China for its use in Ejiao, a traditional medicinal remedy. Several Chinese eateries sell donkey meat and burgers for consumption. Dr. Siddique, who was part of the team that raided the farmhouse, said the availability of safe and quality food in Islamabad was the top priority of the IFA. 'We are enforcing a zero-tolerance policy against those who endanger public health,' she was quoted as saying by the IFA.
Arab News
a day ago
- Arab News
Pakistan arrests five suspects involved in human smuggling, defrauding citizens
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested five suspects involved in human smuggling and defrauding citizens, it said on Saturday. The development comes amid a crackdown against agents involved in sending impoverished Pakistanis abroad through dangerous routes, luring them with a chance at a better life in Europe. The latest arrests were made by the FIA in different areas of Gujranwala and Gujrat districts for swindling citizens out of millions of rupees by offering fake visas and jobs abroad. 'The suspects were found involved in illegally sending innocent citizens abroad,' the FIA said in a statement, identifying the suspects as Rifaqat, Shabraiz, Muhammad Siddique, Muhammad Yasin and Qasim Shaheen. Rafaqat and Shabraiz took Rs2.4 million from a citizen for employment in Italy, but sent him to Kyrgyzstan from where he was deported, according to the agency. Siddique took over Rs2 million from a citizen for employment in Spain, while Yasin received more than Rs645,000 promising to find overseas employment to a citizen. Shaheen duped another man into paying Rs4 million for a job in the United Kingdom (UK). 'The accused had gone into hiding after receiving huge sums of money,' the FIA said, adding that an investigation has been launched against them. Earlier this month, the FIA said it had arrested an agent involved in the Morocco boat tragedy, in which dozens of Pakistanis attempting to travel illegally to Europe had drowned near the African country's coast. The boat had set off from Mauritania in January with 86 migrants on board, among them 66 Pakistanis, for the Canary Islands administered by Spain, international rights group Walking Borders had said. Moroccan authorities said on January 16 that 36 people were rescued from the vessel, while Pakistan confirmed survivors of the tragedy included 22 of its nationals. A record 10,457 migrants, or 30 people a day, died trying to reach Spain in 2024. Most of them died while attempting to cross the Atlantic route from West African countries such as Mauritania and Senegal to the Canary Islands, according to Walking Borders. In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos, marking one of the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pakistani government has ramped up efforts in recent months to combat human smugglers facilitating dangerous journeys for illegal immigrants to Europe, resulting in several arrests. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has also urged increased collaboration with international agencies like Interpol to ensure swift action against human trafficking networks.
