KARACHI - Sindh High Court on Saturday ordered provisional testing by veterinary and microbiological experts of nearly 20,000 sheep imported from Australia.

A division bench, headed by Justice Maqbool Baqir, also ordered that the culling of sheep be stopped till September 24, if no signs of deadly anthrax disease were found in the herd.
This order came after lengthy arguments advanced by the veterinary experts of Sindh government, Commissioner Animal Husbandry of Ministry of Food Security and Research as well as independent experts from the Dow University of Health and Sciences.
Petitioner Tariq Mehmood Butt had approached the SHC to seek restraining order against culling by Karachi municipal administration of his 21,000 sheep recently imported from Australia. On Saturday, Sindh Secretary Livestock and other experts vehemently opposed petitioner’s plea for staying culling of the infected sheep, submitting that the animals are infected with deadly disease of anthrax, among other diseases, that could widely spread to livestock as well as human beings.
Professor Rafiq Khanani of Dow University of Health Sciences informed that anthrax was not much deadly disease, as it only spread from animal to animal and human to human only through close physical contact. He argued that there was no potential risk of spread of the disease. Dr Khursheed Ahmed, Animal Husbandry Commissioner of Ministry of Food Security and Research submitted the disease was not much deadly but could be transmitted through mosquitoes or flies.
Professor Rafiq Khanani voluntarily offered to conduct provisional test of infected sheep that would take hardly four hours to determine whether animals were suffering from the disease or not. SHC division bench ordered provisional testing by government and independent veterinary and microbiological experts of the sheep immediately (on Saturday). It also ordered the experts team to submit its report on September 24, when case will be taken up at 8:30am.
Meanwhile, the court ordered, if no sheep was found infected with the anthrax disease, the culling of animals should immediately be stopped till next date of hearing.
87 OUTLAWS ARRESTED: Police launched operation against criminals and arrested at least 87 miscreants from district South here on Saturday.
To prevent the criminals activities in the south of Karachi the police lunched operation against criminals and arrested 34 criminals in the precincts of Botbase police station.
According to SSP south Asif Sheikh, 12 criminals were arrested in the limits of Parody police station that were involved in heinous crime. 18 criminals from karadar, 8 accused from Nabi Baksh, 4 from civil line, 2 from Eidgah, 5 from Defence, 3 from Guzri and one accused from Balouch colony.  
He also said that a heavy contingent of police under supervision of SP had been deployed in Civil Line Chowk and why the action was not taken against the protesters this matter is being investigated. In response to a question, he said that during the day before protest where rangers and FC contingent was disappeared he said that this question should not ask from me and asked to be from high officials. DC South demanded rangers on wireless but no one came, he added.