November 4, 2003	Tuesday	Ramazan 8, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 3: Butchers observed a complete strike in Rawalpindi and Islamabad on Monday, causing shortage of meat in the twin cities.

People did not find meat in all 3,600 butchers’ shops in the twin cities. However, chicken was being sold at most of these shops.

According to a rough estimate, about 0.4 million customers buy meat daily from these shops.

There were reports that some of the butchers wanted to sell meat in the morning, but the office-bearers of Jamiatul Quresh Meat Welfare Association (JQMWA), Islamabad, visited almost all city markets and managed to get these shops closed, sources said.

They added that the JQMWA office-bearers warned the butchers of dire consequences if they tried to do business during the strike.

Like all butchers shops, business in three registered slaughter houses in the twin cities remained suspended, causing a loss of about Rs1 million revenue to the national exchequer, a source in the Ministry of Food and Livestock said.

In addition to this, he said, a large number of animal skins used in leather industry, and blood and intestines used for preparation of poultry feed could not be obtained due to strike.

“Not only butchers and general people, those associated with transport business, livestock, leather and poultry industries were also affected by the strike,” JQMWA Islamabad president Khurshid Qureshi told Dawn.

He said the strike would continue in the twin cities even after two meatless days — Tuesday and Wednesday.

The butchers’ leader said almost all trader unions had backed the strike call of the JQMWA and expressed concern over government policies towards traders community.

Talking to this reporter, city magistrate, Islamabad, Farasat Ali Khan, claimed that there was no meat shortage in the capital as meat was available in most of the shops.

However, he said the Islamabad Capital Territory administration would convene a meeting with the office-bearers of the JQMWA on Thursday to settle the issue in the federal capital.

People have strongly opposed the recent increase in the prices of meat and lodged various complaints with the office of deputy commissioner Islamabad against butchers.

Our Staff Reporter from Pindi adds: Butchers here on Monday held a protest demonstration against what they said the crackdown of the district government on meat-sellers and arrest of their colleagues from an abattoir a few days ago.

The protest demonstration was organized by Jamiatul Quresh Meat Welfare Association, a representative body of butchers.

The protesters marched from Imambara Chowk to Bani Chowk. The protest was peaceful but led to traffic jams on the road.

The protesters criticized the district Nazim for what they said his cruel treatment of butchers. They accused him of corruption and embezzlements. “To hide his corrupt practices, the district Nazim has launched a crackdown on poor pushcart-owners, stall-holders and meat-sellers,” they said. MMA MNA Hanif Abbasi was also present on the occasion.

The butchers also demanded immediate release of their colleagues arrested by the district government raiding team a few days ago.

Union leaders of the butchers’ community also warned that they would observe a shutterdown strike till their demands were accepted. They claimed that all the meat shops were closed on Monday.

“We have formed a 50-member team to visit all areas and ensure that the strike is unanimous and no meat is sold.”

Many meat shops, however, were open in different areas of the twin cities. Many butchers dissociated themselves from the strike, saying the union leaders were only politicising trivial issues.