PHC seeks report from Health Dept on abundance of rats in Peshawar

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday sought report from high-ups of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Department in a writ petition filed against presence of a large number of rats in the provincial capital.

A division bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Roohul Amin sought complete report from the provincial government through secretary and director general of the Health Department about clearing the capital city of the rats, which are of the size of cats.

During hearing, additional advocate general (AAG) Qaiser Ali Shah sought more time for submitting the report.The bench directed the high-ups of the Health Department to submit the report before April 5, the next hearing as to what strategy and measures were adopted and actions taken for clearing the city and other parts of the province of rats.

A citizen, Dr Hussain Ahmad Haroon, had filed the petition through his lawyer Saifullah Mohib, who requested the court to order the relevant authorities to clear the provincial capital of these rats.

The petitioner stated that a child was recently killed after being bitten by a rat whereas several other persons had so far received injuries after being attacked by these rats.Saifullah Mohib appeared for the petitioner and submitted that these rats had been roaming different parts of the provincial capital, including hospitals.He stated that these rats had become a threat to human lives, but the authorities concerned had turned a blind eye towards the problem.