ISLAMABAD: It appears that in addition to children in Peshawar’s hospitals, rats have also bitten parliamentarians and their children.

The matter was raised during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights on Thursday, which discussed the increasing cases of rats biting children in Peshawar.

Women MNAs residing in the Parliament Lodges also took the opportunity to raise complaints about a rat infestation in the lodges.

“A rat bit me recently,” PPP MNA Musarat Rafique said. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) MNA Aliya Karman added: “Giant rodents have attacked children. We have to block holes and open spaces to stop them from entering our apartments.”

During the meeting, it was pointed out that rodents had caused short circuiting and an ensuing fire in the Supreme Court, which is also infested with rats.

The chairman of the committee, PML-N MNA Babar Nawaz Khan said the National Assembly deputy speaker, who is in charge of the maintenance of the Parliament Lodges, would be asked to respond to the complaints.

The public health coordinator at the Peshawar District Health Office, Mohammad Asif, clarified that three people had died from rat bites as compared to figures reported in the media.

“There have been 923 cases of rat bites reported so far,” Mr Asif said. “There is no research on this species of rodent in Pakistan. We do not know if it is native or imported,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2016

Opinion

Editorial

Trump 2.0
Updated 07 Nov, 2024

Trump 2.0

It remains to be seen how his promises to bring ‘peace’ to Middle East reconcile with his blatantly pro-Israel bias.
Fait accompli
07 Nov, 2024

Fait accompli

A SLEW of secretively conceived and hastily enacted legislation has achieved its intended result: the powers of the...
IPP contracts
07 Nov, 2024

IPP contracts

THE government expects the ongoing ‘negotiations’ with power producers aimed at revising the terms of sovereign...
Rushed legislation
Updated 06 Nov, 2024

Rushed legislation

For all its stress on "supremacy of parliament", the ruling coalition has wasted no opportunity to reiterate where its allegiances truly lie.
Jail reform policy
06 Nov, 2024

Jail reform policy

THE state is making a fresh attempt to improve conditions in Pakistan’s penitentiaries by developing a national...
BISP overhaul
06 Nov, 2024

BISP overhaul

IT has emerged that the spouses of over 28,500 Sindh government employees have been illicitly benefiting from BISP....