PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Friday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government and police to check cattle smuggling to Afghanistan from Peshawar and adjoining districts to ensure the availability of sacrificial animals in the province ahead of the Eidul Azha festival.

A bench consisting of Justice Shakeel Ahmad and Justice Wiqar Ahmad issued the order over a petition filed by the Peshawar Bar Association through its president, Ashfaq Ahmad Khalil, to seek the court’s orders for the provincial government, inspector general of police and other relevant officials to check the illegal transportation of cattle to Afghanistan.

It fixed June 27 for the next hearing into the case directing the government to submit a report on the steps taken by it in accordance with the court’s orders.

The bench ordered immediate steps to stop cattle smuggling out of the country from Peshawar and adjoining districts.

Seeks report on steps against illegal animal supply to Afghanistan

The respondents in the petition include the provincial government through its chief secretary, agriculture and livestock secretary, provincial IGP, Peshawar’s capital city police officer, commissioner of Peshawar division, and deputy commissioners of Peshawar and Khyber districts.

Senior lawyer Mohammad Yasir Khattak appeared for the petitioner and said that the Peshawar Bar Association held an emergency meeting two days ago and decided to move the high court against the transportation of sacrificial animals to Afghanistan, and authorised him to file that petition.

He said in the past, the KP government had banned the transportation of cattle to Afghanistan prior to Eidul Azha until the third day of the festival as the smuggling caused the shortage of sacrificial animals in the province driving up their prices exorbitantly.

The lawyer said that “fact” was in the knowledge of respondents but this time around, the government didn’t impose any ban on the illegal transportation of cattle to Afghanistan due to which the prices of sacrificial animals would increase and would also result in its shortage.

He contended that all Muslims with enough money wanted to purchase animals to sacrifice them on the occasion of Eidul Azha as a religious obligation.

Mr Khattak argued that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure the availability of sacrificial animals on the market at reasonable prices to the people, but the government wasn’t fulfilling that responsibility.

He added that the respondents were bound by their duty to check such illegal activities but they had turned a blind eye to it.

The lawyer said that on several occasions in the past, the high court had issued orders for checking illegal cattle transportation to Afghanistan and that those orders yielded good results.

He requested the court to take notice of the matter ahead of the imminent Eidul Azha.

Mr Khattak said that several “mafias” were involved in the smuggling of cattle to Afghanistan and that they increased their illegal activities before Eidul Azha.

He pointed out that if the smuggling wasn’t checked, the locals won’t be able to sacrifice animals on Eid.

Published in Dawn, June 24th, 2023