ISLAMABAD, Dec 26: Shortage of beef and mutton is being experienced in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad due to smuggling of meat to Afghanistan and export to other countries, a source told Dawn.

The price of meat has also gone up by 25 per cent in the capital. Mutton is now available at Rs145 to Rs150 per kg compared to its earlier price of Rs120 to Rs125, while beef is being sold at Rs85 per kg against its earlier rate of Rs70 per kg. People have criticized the recent increase in the price of meat and lodged several complaints with the office of the deputy commissioner Islamabad against the butchers.

Talking to Dawn, a senior official in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration said although butchers had increased their prices by 25 per cent, they were still requesting the administration to permit them to make further increases. He said the butchers intended to fix the price of mutton at Rs160 per kg and beef at Rs90 per kg.

“The butchers told us that mutton was costing them Rs145 per kg, so how could they sell it at the same price,” he said.

The source said availability of meat had reduced by 50 per cent because butchers were bringing very limited quantity to the market. Before the beginning of the crisis, some 6,000 goats and sheep, 3,000 cows and 1,500 calves were slaughtered everyday. Now, their number has reduced to 4,000, 1,500 and 800, respectively, he added.

The source said beef was being sent to Afghanistan via Peshawar, Landi Kotal and other bordering areas for the US armed forces. He said some 14 persons were exporting meat to the middle eastern countries with the support of the Ministry of Food and Livestock.

The president of Jamiatul Quresh Meat Welfare Association, Islamabad, Khursheed Qureshi, said: “We have sent letters to President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider to take measures for stopping meat smuggling to Afghanistan.”

He said the government had issued licenses to some people for the export of meat and alive animals. The step has badly affected the local market, creating insufficient supply of meat to the market.

He said mutton was being smuggled to Afghanistan and some middle eastern counties at the rate of Rs280 per kg, whereas, it was being sold at Rs145 to Rs150 in Pakistan.

If smuggling and export of meat is not stopped, rate of mutton will further go up to Rs250 per kg and beef to over Rs150 per kg in local markets, Mr Qureshi said.

“As smugglers and exporters pick healthy animals from the market for export, local butchers are compelled to sell weak and sick animals to meet local consumption,” he added.

The meat association’s president said the government should impose complete ban on export of animals till sufficient farmhouses of goats, sheep, cows, and other livestock were established in the country.