SC seeks report on action taken against spurious milk trade

Lahore

The Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the Punjab Livestock secretary to submit report regarding action taken against those involved in business of adulterated milk, supply of poor quality water and use of steroid injections for buffaloes.

The SC also sought report about legislation on these issues by the next hearing on Sept 8. A bench comprising Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman passed the order on the petition filed by Barrister Zafarullah Khan of Watan Party. The bench previously had taken suo motu on the petition and sought report from the Punjab government.

On Wednesday, the lawyer-petitioner submitted that not only loose milk but also packaged milk being consumed by citizens was also adulterated with chemicals, including detergent power, which was not fit for human consumption. He submitted that use of contaminated and substandard milk was causing citizens serious diseases, including hepatitis C. He said there was not a single laboratory in Pakistan that had the capability to gauge contamination of chemicals in milk and water.

Barrister Khan said the citizens were being fed poison through steroid injections being used for buffaloes for boosting their milk production.

He prayed to the court to ban business of contaminated and adulterated milk and poor quality water as well as sale of injections being used for buffaloes to increase their milk production.

pension: The Lahore High Court Wednesday disposed of petition of four retired teachers after the Finance Department undertook to refund deduction made in the double pension of the petitioners. 

Abdul Rauf Khan and others had filed petitions through advocate Safdar Shaheen contending that the Punjab government last year started deducting benefit of increased pension implemented in 2013. The lawyer argued that benefit once granted by the government could not be taken back in any case as per judgments of the Supreme Court. He asked the court to order refund of the deducted amount. 

A government’s counsel presented a notification before the court and said the amount recovered from the petitioners would be reimbursed. The court disposed of the petition in light of the government's notification.

SHO: Additional District and Sessions Judge Naveed Iqbal Wednesday ordered registration of an FIR against Kot Lakhpat SHO and an investigation officer for keeping two people in illegal custody and torturing them. 

Kalsum Bibi of Kot Lakhpat filed a habeas corpus petition in the court contending that the police detained her two relatives Nadeem and Mudassar illegally. She implored the court to issue orders for their recovery. The court after hearing plea of the petitioner appointed a bailiff. The bailiff when approached the police station it found that police were torturing them and their arrest was not registered in the police diary. The bailiff produced them before the court and submitted its report in which illegal police torture was mentioned. The court after reviewing the bailiff’s report issued orders for registration of a criminal case against the SHO and investigation officer and released the two persons.