A very large number of people may not be able to afford even a share in combined Qurbani this year due to high prices of sacrificial animals. Different Masajids and organisations have displayed banners offering a share in sacrificial animals ranging from Rs 7,000 to Rs 15,000.
Although, sacrificial animals have started arriving in the city, the meat dealers express fear that there would be a huge shortage of livestock during the fast approaching Eid-ul-Azha. They said that inflation has hit the common people very hard and a large number of people may not be able to offer Qurbani this year.
They attributed the livestock shortage to floods, smuggling as well as export to Afghanistan and Iran. Around 200,000 cows and the same number of goats and sheep are transported to Karachi from interior Sindh and Punjab every year for Eid-ul-Azha. The meat dealers alleged that every day thousands of live animals, especially cows and goats are being smuggled from KP and Balocistan to Afghanistan and Iran.
Huge loss of livestock due to floods and its continued smuggling has resulted in high prices of meat, they said. "There will be severe shortage of livestock during Eid-ul-Azha. The flood factor has contributed 15 percent to the shortage and the remaining would occur due to smuggling of animals to Afghanistan and Iran," a meat dealer said.
The dealers demanded of the government to take appropriate measures to stop livestock smuggling and impose a ban on the export of sacrificial animals and meat if it really wanted to overcome the shortfall. Pakistan Tanners Association (PTA) Chairman Khurshid Alam apprehended that if the present outflow of live animals continues, its prices would be out of range of the common people.