ISLAMABAD: A division bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) comprising Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Aamir Farooq here Tuesday suspended an order of IHC single bench that earlier this month while adjudicating in the matter of importing diseased sheep from Australia in September 2012 had directed for proceedings against responsible officials. Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the IHC had directed secretary cabinet division to initiate action against secretary ministry of national food security & research (NFSR), former and incumbent animal husbandry commissioners and quarantine officer of NFSR ministry as per service and criminal laws. The IHC bench had decided the petitions of Dr Rana Muhammad Akhlaq, deputy animal husbandry commissioner and Dr Alamdar Hussain, former registrar Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC). The IHC division bench heard the Intra Court appeal of the incumbent Principal Scientific Officer (PSO) of NFSR ministry Dr Khurshid Ahamd who is also animal husbandry commissioner (AHC) has cited Dr Rana M Akhlaq deputy AHC at NFSR, secretary cabinet division, ministry NFSR, Dr Rafiqul Hassan Usmani ex-AHC, Dr Muhammad Asghar Zia, Quarantine Officer NFSR, M/s PK Live Stock & Meat Company, Australian meat export company Wellard Rural Export (WRE), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and Dr Alamdar Hussain Malik, former registrar PVMC as respondents. IHC bench besides suspending the orders also issued notices to the respondents and put off hearing with date in office. The petitioner through his counsel Zulfiqar Ahmad Bhutta advocate told the court that the matter was already decided by a division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) and a single member bench of the IHC could not re-open this matter. The petitioner’s counsel argued that it is against norms of justice to re-open the same matter by a single judge when a division bench of SHC had taken cognisance of the matter and FIR in this case that was registered with FIA has also been cancelled. The petitioner told the court that in September 2012 some 21000 infected sheep were imported. After the news was spread in the media it raised serious concerns at federal government level. One Dr Nazeer Kalhoro of Sindh Poultry Vaccine Center Karachi had prepared a report that the sheep were infected with the disease named Actinomyees Ovis. Due to the said report the present petitioner AHC conveyed to the Sindh government to cull the sheep. After this, the Pakistani importer of sheep filed a writ petition before the SHC to stop his sheep being culled. The SHC bench then directed to send samples to World Reference Laboratory of UK. The British laboratory then reported that it found no such disease and the meat was fit for human consumption. But after the UK laboratories had declared the meat fit for human consumption, the Pakistani importer of sheep withdrew his petition from SHC for unknown reason and the SHC bench then directed DG Rangers and IG Sindh to provide security to the petitioner. Even FIA inquiries had found nothing in the matter and particularly against the petitioner Dr Khurshid and had closed the matter. The petitioner has prayed to the court to set aside the order of IHC single judge in this case.
