ISLAMABAD, March 5: Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali has been informed that the wheat consignment imported from Australia worth more than $30 million is infected with fungus after a second test was done in the presence of Australian officials at the National Agricultural Research Council (NARC).

The government had decided to re-examine the wheat consignment as the Australian authorities were contesting the findings of an earlier report of NARC, which found karnal bunt fungus and low gluten content in the Australian wheat consignment.

The findings of the tests done in the presence of the Australian representatives confirmed the results of tests conducted earlier. Samples from all the four ships carrying 150,00 tons of wheat were sent to the NARC for tests, an official said.

Officials said wheat with more than 3 per cent bunted karnals is considered unfit for human consumption. The federal cabinet in its meeting held last Saturday (February 28) had deputed Professor Atta-ur-Rehman to personally supervise the re-examination of Australian wheat by NARC.

The Committee, constituted by Professor Atta for re- examination under his supervision included Dr Kausar Malik, member bio sciences, Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, Dr Faqir Anjum, head of the food technology department University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Dr Iqbal Chaudhry, acting director HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, University of Karachi and other top scientists of the country.

"The committee has come to the conclusion that the wheat is defective on many accounts. In addition to being contaminated for carrying karnal bunt fungus, the gluten contents of the wheat is less than the minimum requirements," a senior government official told Dawn.

The committee, an official said, had warned that use of wheat would lead to spread of Karnal Bunt Fungus at a large scale throughout the country with potential adverse damage to the agricultural land for a long time.

Pakistan banned low priced Indian grain two years ago on the ground that it was contaminated with karnal bunt fungus, an allegation India denied at that time.

"There is a lot of pressure on the government to accept the Australian wheat consignment," an official said, requesting anonymity. Sources said officials from the Australian government department of agriculture, fisheries and forestry and Australian High Commission, had met Pakistani authorities on a number of occasions "to resolve the matter as quickly as possible."

Official information shows that the Australian High Commissioner in Pakistan, Mr Howard Brown, "made a series of high-level representations to senior Pakistan government figures underlining concern at the rejection of the cargoes and the need to resolve the matter quickly, correctly and completely." Australian department of foreign affairs and trade also called in Pakistan's High Commissioner "for consultations on the issue."