KOHAT: The strike by the butchers entered the sixth day here on Monday in protest against the district administration for fixing beef price at Rs250 per kilogramme. They want the price fixed at Rs350.

About 150 beef sellers in the city and outskirts have stuck to their demand, not ready to abide by the administration’s directive.

President of Tajir Action Committee Haji Abid told this correspondent on phone that the administration tallied the rates with Peshawar market and then fixed them. So, if the butchers in Peshawar have no objection to it then why the Kohat butchers, he asked.

Similarly, he said the butchers were never in loss as they also earned handsome money by selling bones, skin, foot, intestine, heads, hearts, lungs, liver of the slaughtered animals.

He pointed out that the butchers bought the animals on instalments of Rs10,000 to Rs20,000 a month from the wholesale markets in KP and Punjab and had to pay huge interest which they recovered from the buyers.

Haji Abid blamed the local administration for being too lax to the butchers, allowing them to go on lengthy strike. He suggested that the officials should hold talks with them for resolution of the problem during Ramazan.

ANTI-RIOT FORCE: Acting on the directives of the KP police chief, an anti-riot force has been raised following mob attacks on the Peshawar and Malakand grid stations.

A spokesman of the district police officer, in a statement on Monday said the IGP had issued orders for formation of the anti riots police for controlling the attacks and ransacking of public and private properties.

He said special instructors had been invited from the anti-riot and disorder management school, Mardan, for the training of the members of the force.

The statement said the members had been provided special weapons and other protective gears and given training to immediately act in case of public disorder.

Published in Dawn, June 6th, 2017