PESHAWAR: To control smuggling of cattle to Afghanistan, the political administration has banned the transportation of livestock from the tribal agency to maintain normal prices and illegal cross border smuggling of sacrificial animals in the tribal region.
Sources said that the decision to ban movement of all kind of cattle heads outside the agency was taken during a meeting of senior officials of the Bajaur administration.
They said the initiative was taken following public complaints over growing smuggling of cattle from the agency which was causing hike in the prices of sacrificial animals.
When contacted, Bajaur Agency political agent Mohammad Yahaya Akhunzada confirmed the ban, saying the step was taken in the larger public interest. He said special arrangements had been made to implement the ban on movement. “The ban will be implemented from today (Friday) and the officials directed to keep close watch over the movement of animals at all exit points of the agency,” he added.
Akhunzada further said that the administration was taking all out efforts to stop the movement of sacrificial animals from the region and extra levies personnel also been deployed at all exit points of the region.