PESHAWAR, Jan 2: Caretaker NWFP Chief Minister Shamsul Mulk has ordered the setting up of an emergency cell for preventing bird flu and called for an effective strategy to counter the threat of avian influenza and other diseases.

He was presiding over a meeting on avian influenza at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat here on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by the provincial minister for agriculture and administrative secretaries. The meeting was told that USAID and other international donor agencies had indicated willingness to provide monetary and back-up support in tackling the disease.

The meeting decided that the setting of more poultry forms would be discouraged in Mansehra and Abbottabad.

The chief minister said that he would take up the issue with the federal government to help prepare at the provincial level. He suggested a research-oriented approach and establishment of a state-of-the-art laboratory and liaison with all stakeholders for effectively averting the danger of the disease.

Stressing the need for capacity-building, the chief minister ordered the re-activation of a task force to counter the threat of bird flu.

Calling for identifying sites for the poultry industry, he said that the government would lay down the necessary infrastructure, ensure accessibility and security besides offering incentives to attract poultry farm owners.