The subcommittee of Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday directed the Health Ministry to put a ban on venom export, what the Secretary, Health said, the concerned firms have started, knowing the extraction method and its heavy price in international market.
The committee met under the chairmanship of Yasmeen Rehman and was attended by Hamid Yar Haraj and Secretary Health Khushnood Akhtar Lashari. It observed that venom is a research-oriented product, and an important component ingredient of anti-venom vaccine, so curtailing its export is inevitable for durable availability of the products.
The committee gave these directions discussing the audit objections on the purchase of snakes on extraordinary high rates of Rs 3,346,760 during the year 1996-97, causing loss of Rs 2.228 million to national exchequer. The committee directed the Health Ministry to take up the matter with the Ministry of Environment and put a ban on venom export, if these snakes have been declared as endangered species.
Secretary Health told the meeting that venom is extracted from four most poisonous snakes of the country, bought from Umer Kot, Thar and Cholistan, and in the past, National Institute of Health used to be the sole purchaser of the product.
"But as the snake traders learnt the method to extract venom from snakes and realised its heavy prices in international market, they have started exporting it, raising its prices in local market," said the Health Secretary.
A representative of Health Ministry said that the snakes cannot survive for long after the hurtful process of venom extraction, though their life already decreases to a great extent for being kept in captivity, and described venom as one of the costliest products in medicine.
The committee also suggested to incorporate rules banning venom export in upcoming national health policy as the Health Secretary said the country is already importing venom from India. However, Lashari said the import market is also limited as "we cannot purchase venom of all snakes; rather we have to match the samples with those of four species available in Pakistan, too."
The committee directed the Health Ministry to submit a report on the matter within one month, looking into all its aspects, and observed that the country could face acute shortage of anti-venom vaccines, if illegal export continued unchecked. The committee was told that the case is being probed by Federal Investigation Agency, what the chair said was not invited to the meeting, and added that in the upcoming meeting, the FIA would be asked about any progress in investigation process.
According to the audit brief, the Ministry had purchased krait snake for Rs 1940 against Rs 597 in 1995-96, Rs 574 in 1998-99, Rs 599 in 1999-2000 and Rs 589 in 2000-2001 whereas the Russell viper snake was purchased for Rs 750 in 1996-97 against Rs 80 in 1995-96, Rs 390 in 1997-98, Rs 274 in 1998-99, Rs 289 in 2000-01.