Following permission being granted to import livestock, a long-standing ban on the import of meat from Pakistan to the UAE has also been lifted through a notification issued by the General Secretariat of Municipalities.

According to a senior official at the Pakistan Consulate in Dubai, the ban on livestock from Pakistan was lifted last month, while another notification regarding the lifting of the ban on the import of meat was issued a couple of days ago.

"Now UAE residents, especially the Pakistani community members, will be able to get both Pakistani livestock, including goats, sheep and cows, and the meat from the local market," the official said.

It took about two years to fulfil the requirements set by the local authorities before lifting of the ban. "While the livestock from Pakistan has already started reaching the local animal market, meat is expected to be available in the market for wholesale and retail sales within the next week," the official said.

The decision, he added, was widely welcomed by the Pakistani community members, especially the importers.

A huge investment was made by exporters based in Pakistan to further improve the existing quarantine and abattoir facilities in the country. "Two abattoirs in Lahore and one in Karachi have been approved and authorised to export meat to the UAE," he noted.

He pointed out that the Pakistani authorities would exercise strict control to ensure quality and hygienic conditions.

"Pakistani meat is in no way of lesser quality as compared with the meat imported from other countries and sold in the local market. It is slaughtered in a pure Islamic way, taking full care of hygienic conditions. The only problem is some exporters are careless and they should be checked," said a meat shop owner in Sharjah.

Pakistani livestock and meat were banned for fear of infection followed by the observation by local authorities regarding lack of hygienic and quarantine facilities in Pakistan.

The ban was lifted on the recommendation of a delegation from the UAE, which visited facilities and slaughterhouses in Pakistan from March 11 to 16 and found that any dangerous animal diseases had been eradicated through the efforts of the European Union, the UN International Epidemic Disease Organisation and the government of Pakistan.

According to the Consulate official, there has been a ban in place on import of meat from Pakistan to the UAE since July, 2000, which apparently stems from reported instances of export of substandard meat by some exporters based in Pakistan.

Efforts were made through diplomatic channels to persuade the government of the UAE to send a delegation to visit Pakistan in order to inspect the facilities and slaughterhouses.