LHC seeks German report on adulterated packaged milk

A Lahore High Court division bench headed by Justice Shahid Hameed Dar on Thursday directed the LHC registrar office and law officer to present in court the German laboratory report on samples of packed milk.
The LHC registrar office and law officer were previously asked on July 5 to present a copy of the report in court. However, on Thursday the judges were informed again that the report was not available.
The bench adjourned hearing till October 27.
The court heard an Inter-court Appeal (ICA) dismissal of a petition filed against the sale of adulterated milk to innocent citizens by companies selling packaged milk and local milkmen.
The ICA was filed after a Lahore High Court single bench judgment on December 22, 2010 dismissed a petition filed by Watan Party, through Zafarullah Khan, who had asserted that melamine and other chemicals injurious to health were mixed in the milk being sold by tetra pack milk packaging companies.
The bench had a report by a German laboratory which declared the milk “fit for human consumption”, thus rendering false media reports which claimed the milk was adulterated.
In the ICA Zafarullah said he had based his petition on media reports which claimed that packaged and loose milk was not fit for human consumption and objected that the LHC judge had rejected the media report without hearing the findings of the reporters who had investigated the matter.
“The court is not persuaded because these news items were published without cogent evidence,” the petitioner quoted the judgment.
The petitioner said citizens did not have any source of information apart from the media and the judge had paid only cursory attention to a report which required thorough consideration.
The petitioner said national assembly members had raised the issue of contaminated milk being sold by tetra pack companies and local milkmen, during parliamentary committee proceedings on food adulteration.
The petitioner said Khawja Asif submitted a study in parliament on December 14, 2010 which said University of Cambridge had revealed that Pakistan produced 17 billion litres of milk, while its consumption was 38 billion litres of milk, and to meet the shortage it was mixed with various chemicals.
The petitioner said companies mixed urea and other chemicals in milk to increase its quantity and thickness.
“Pakistanis are drinking white poison in the form of packed and unpacked milk,” the petitioner said, quoting the report.
The petitioner asked that an appeal to set aside judgment on his earlier petition may be accepted and fresh examination of the issue be begun.