LAHORE, Feb 17: The Lahore High Court on Monday granted stay against the scheduled opening of a tender for the purchase of certain pesticides and restrained the provincial food secretary to open the tenders on Feb 19.

Petitioner Iqbal Mahmood Awan contended that only those pesticides registered with the director-general of plant protection, ministry of food and agriculture, in accordance with the provisions of Agricultural Pesticides Ordinance, 1971, could be purchased.

He alleged that the pesticides were unregistered products and could not be purchased.