ISLAMABAD: Tariq Basheer Cheema, Minister for National Food Security and Research, said on Wednesday that Genetically Modified Organism’s (GMO) imports were banned due to its negative impacts on health and environment.
The minister briefed the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Food Security and Research on the issue and said that good health, security, and safety of the people were prime objectives of the government. It would never allow hazardous foods’ imports in the country.
He said that ban on the GMO soyabean was placed since 2019 and recently Pakistan Customs had seized nine ships bringing the commodity into the country. As the commodity was considered one of the major causes of cancer, the custom intelligence immediately thwarted its import.
The minister said that Ministry of National Food Security and Department of Plant Protection were operating according to rules and regulations of imports.
Committee formed to find GMO soyabean’s alternative
He said that as the GMO soyabean had been using in the poultry sector, therefore the matter was discussed in the federal cabinet and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a ministers’ level committee to ensure the alternative supply to the sector.
.Rao Muhammad Ajmal, the committee chairman, revealed that he was also in the poultry business and he owned 12 farms but ten of his farms have been closed down. He said that the poultry sector was facing serious problems and the main objective of the meeting was to find out solutions in order to provide eggs and chickens to local customers on affordable rates. –APP
