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Importers of Australian vetch to be prosecuted

ISLAMABAD: An army inquiry team has recommended legal action against six Pakistani importers of contaminated Australian vetch who marketed the poisonous animal fodder as Masoor pulse during 1998-99.

Six Pakistani firms imported 4,280 tonnes of the animal fodder and supplied it to Pakistan Army and the general public as Australian variety of Masoor pulse to make quick bucks, states the inquiry report, a copy of which has been obtained by Fortuna.

About a fifth of the import was palmed off to the Pakistan Army, which consumed about half of the contaminated supply before the scandal became public and tests were conducted and an inquiry instituted to find out if the commodity was fit for human consumption.

The inquiry report establishes the fact that the imported commodity contained poisonous contents harmful for human consumption. The report, a copy of which has been forwarded to Chief Executive General Pervez Musharraf, confirms the presence of neuro toxin in the Australian vetch.

The report calls for blacklisting of the importing firms and directions that they replenish unused vetch stocks with Masoor pulse (red lentils).

The report states that inquiry results did not shed any light on what the importers did with the remaining stocks.

The inquiry team suggested that the remaining quantity might have been sold in the open market as Masoor.

The inquiry team has asked the General to not only blacklist the firms but to also order legal action against them for supplying poisonous vetch to the army and general public as well.

The six importers that face legal action are Sialkot-based Mushtaq & Company, Karachi-based Shaheen Impex, Raza Enterprises, Ali Traders and Faisalabad-based Naveed Traders and Pak Traders.-Fortuna