LAHORE, Feb 22: The Pakistan Veterinary Medical Association has demanded constitution of a commission to inquire into corruption in the veterinary sector instead of making the corrupt officials OSDs and continuing paying them.

Voicing the demand at a press conference here on Sunday, association president Dr Muhammad Arshad and other office-bearers said that not only both directors general but a number of high-ranking officials had also been made OSDs by the Punjab government during the past few days.

More officials were expected to be proceeded against on account of alleged waste of over Rs10 billion owing to failure of the dairy development and rural support programmes.

They said there was no justification for action against Punjab veterinary sector officials because the Pakistan Dairy Development Company had been launched by the federal government.

Not only the dairy company but also the rural support program was controlled by retired bureaucrats.

As far as the performance of veterinary sector was concerned, the share of livestock in GDP growth in agriculture sector was 52 per cent, according to the Economic Survey of Pakistan. They said the livestock sector had given good performance despite the fact that 1,500 veterinary hospitals and dispensaries in Punjab were without doctors out of 2,200.

Pakistan had become the third largest milk producing country in the world despite the fact that the veterinary sector was receiving only 10 per cent funds as compared to the agriculture sector.

Traders: The All Pakistan Anjuman Tajran has urged the government to take measures for the improvement of law and order situation. At a meeting of traders here on Sunday, Anjuman President Haji Maqsood Ahmed Butt said the government should control law and order because it was affecting the economy.

The businessmen felt unsafe and could not work with peace of mind.He called upon the government to take steps to increase power generation to dispense with loadshedding which had resulted in sharp decline in industrial production in the country.