ISLAMABAD, March 29: Federal Minister for Food, Agriculture and Livestock Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind on Saturday said the government had provisionally declared Pakistan free from rinderpest in January this year.

The minister was speaking at a ceremony held to give awards to scientists from the federal capital as well as the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and the Northern Areas whose dedicated efforts brought fruits to save livestock from this fatal disease.

Eradication of any disease is not an easy task particularly like rinderpest which is one of the most devastating of cloven- hoofed animals. It entailed commitment and hard work on the part of all those involved in this operation, he added.

He lauded the meritorious services of the scientists rendered for eliminating rinderpest from the country and safeguarding livestock from this fatal disease.

Mr Rind said in the campaign for the eradication of rinderpest, “we received continuous support from international organizations, particularly Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN), European Commission (EC) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Speaking on the occasion, the representative of European Commission, Emmanuel Mersch, said the Pakistani government had announced the provisional freedom of rinderpest in the country “which means that we have still some work to do before the final clearance can be given”.

“In this connection, I am therefore pleased to announced that we are just starting a new project on strengthening livestock services in Pakistan,” he added.