10 auctioned animals were to be gifted to Sri Lanka

PM Gilani orders inquiry into sell-off of 63 rare animals.

ISLAMABAD: Of the 63 rare animals sold off at an auction by Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (Parc), 10 were to be gifted to the Sri Lankan government by President Asif Zardari as a goodwill gesture.

This was revealed as Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani ordered a high-level inquiry against top officials of Parc for being part of the scam.

Meanwhile, a group of parliamentarian raised hue and cry in the National Assembly on Tuesday against the auction of animals by Parc officials to alleged frontmen of a recently relieved minister from central Punjab.

The MNAs demanded the government to bring all those animals back to Parc, where they were groomed for research and breeding purposes. The parliamentarians also demanded that inquiry report be tabled in the lower house and those responsible for the auction punished.

Sources have now confirmed that ten animals to be gifted to Sri Lanka were sold knowingly by Parc officials. Rare species of bulls were also sold by the officials for a pittance.

PM Gilani is said to have directed the newly appointed minister for agriculture to launch investigation into the fraud after reports that the sale of rare animals had affected Parc’s breeding programme.

The Express Tribune had revealed on February 27 that the PARC had sold out 63 animals of  used for research and breeding purposes without the knowledge of the member animal science division Dr NA Naqvi who had written a letter to chairman Parc Dr Afzal.

She had strongly protested the sale of these animals without her consent and knowledge. Member Finance PARC Abdul Khaliq too questioned the auction in the absence of any member from his department and termed the deal “illegal” and “non-transparent”.

Meanwhile, the episode came under fire in the National Assembly on Tuesday when a group of fuming parliamentarians attacked the agriculture ministry and PARC for selling the rare breed of animals. The parliamentarians who blasted the government included Nawab Yousuf Talpur and Ch Abdul Ghafoor. Talpur also criticised PM Gilani’s decision to remove Dr Zafar Altaf from the chairmanship of PARC. He warned that Altaf’s departure would play havoc with the ongoing cotton project, launched in collaboration with China.

Meanwhile, Dr Altaf confirmed to The Express Tribune that before leaving his office last month, he had prepared ten animals on the directions of President Asif Zardari to be gifted to Sri Lanka. He said the unfortunate part of this auction was that rare bulls were prepared for breeding after hard work and research of 20 to 25 years. He said one bull’s cost was in the range of Rs7 to Rs10million as they were source of breeding.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 2^nd, 2011.