Send poultry feed back or destroy it; Supreme Court tells importers: traces of pork meat and bones confirmed

After it was proved that 14 firms imported poultry feed and organic fertiliser having traces of pork meat and bones, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered sending these consignments (150 containers) back and pay the penalty with an undertaking of being careful in future.
The court directed the importers found guilty of importing contaminated poultry feed to destroy their consignments if they fail to send that back within three weeks. A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Chaudhry Ijaz Ahmed and Justice Mahmood Akhtar Shahid Siddiqui disposed of the suo motu case pertaining to imported poultry feed.
In addition, the court directed the customs authorities and importers not to aggravate the matter any further (which was pending before different forums), adding that the orders of the court be considered as final.
The court directed member customs to complete the exercise within four weeks and submit a compliance report. Member Customs Karachi Munir Qureshi submitted a report regarding the action taken against the companies responsible for import of poultry feed containing pig meat.
Attorney General Sardar Latif Khosa read out the report and said 150 containers are lying at Karachi and Lahore. He suggested destruction of the material of all those containers saying it was resulting in pollution. He said import of any material containing traces of pork in any form is a crime according to the Customs Act. It is also forbidden by the Holy Quran and Sunnah, he added.
Advocate Zulfiqar Khalid Maluka, Tariq Mehmood represented importers which include National Feeds, Punjnud Feeds, Shabbir Edible Oil & Feeds Pvt Multan, Marjan Feed Mills Karachi, Ghazi Brothers Karachi, Shamim Feed Industries Bahawalpur, Asia Feeds, Islamabad Feeds, A-One Feeds Hyderabad, Shahzor Feeds and Lahore Feeds.
Some of the importers contended that they have already asked the concerned companies for taking their consignments back as they had not ordered for material containing traces of pork in any form.
The court asked the counsels representing importers whether they were ready to volunteer in destroying their consignments in case of failure to send back to which they expressed their willingness. Earlier, representatives of companies had rejected the claim and had challenged the report submitted on the issue along with questions raised by Pakistan Council of Scientific Industrial Research (PCSIR).