JHANG, Feb 14: Pakistan may not be represented at the Fifth Asian Buffalo Congress being held in Nanning, China, from April 18 to 22 this year, allegedly due to the indifference of food, agriculture and livestock ministry.

The congress’ theme for the year is “Contribution of buffalo to the economy of rural areas.”

Chairman Pakistan Livestock Breeders Association Safdar Saleem Sail told Dawn at the Jhang office of the PLBA on Monday.

Mr Sail, who also recently visited Indian Punjab as a part of a farmers’ delegation, is a recipient of the gold medal awarded by the World Food and Agriculture Organization in 1995.

He said that he was given an invitation by the livestock wing of the ministry on July 11, 2005, to attend the congress, along with a broacher containing necessary details and the programme of the event.

Originally, there were 10 other delegates apart from Mr Sail who were to attend the event. They included livestock director-generals of the four provinces, five dairy processors and a dairy farmer.

Mr Sial said these delegates were only verbally intimated by the ministry, but issued no invitations which were necessary to get registered for the event by Nov 30, 2005, the last date for the registration. As a result, no delegate could get registered with the congress’ organizing committee.

He said, however, the delegates could still get registered by paying the late fee.

Emphasizing the need for Pakistan’s participation in such an important event, Mr Sail said the country had the finest buffalo breeds in the world. According to a WFAO report, he said, the Rani and Neeli buffalo breeds produced by Pakistan were the best in the world because of their milk capacity, its quality and their beauty.

The report further said that though Pakistan possessed only 10 per cent of the total population of the buffalo in the world, its share of milk was 30 per cent.

In view of Pakistan’s overall standing in the world in the field of buffalo breeding, the participation of its experts in the congress was essential for sharing their experiences with their counterparts from other countries.

Mr Sail has urged President Gen Pervaiz Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz to interfere in the matter and ensure the participation of Pakistani delegation in the congress.