After the interim order issued by the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that cancelled the contract of the sacrificial animal market, the contractor has started moving his items out of the place. Under the court order, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) will have to manage the market, but this has also placed the officials in a lurch as they do not have the expertise. “We will try our best but mismanagement can be expected,” said a CDA official. “This is a serious matter because people affiliated with allied services also come here.” A majority of customers at the sacrificial market come to buy cows/bulls or goats but a large number of camel sellers, mostly from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, have also arrived in Islamabad in the hope of getting a better bargain for their animals. As the Islamabad sacrificial animals market is set to pick pace from today (Sunday), not only the animal sellers but also people belonging to other services have given final tou ches to their businesses.

Published in Dawn, September 28th, 2014