Board for Halal products development set up

The board, linked to the
Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) through Islamic Chamber
Research and Information (ICRC), will be attached to the S&T
Ministry.

The federal minister said the board would help Pakistani
producers capture the international Halal market where Pakistan’s share
is negligible.

He said the government was searching for able
scientists for all 15 research institutes working in the country and it
also announced special pay scales for them.

Swati said the S&T
Ministry had proposed huge incentives for talented scientists out of
the income of research institutes. LCCI President Zafar Iqbal Chaudhry
said the long-awaited establishment of the board, which had been
hovering in trade policy clauses for three years, would be practically
implemented by the Lahore chamber.

He said it was high time that the
Pakistan economy was boosted by recognizing our own strength as well as
using the power of Halal that had created a brand new global Halal
economy in the world today.

Haroon Shafique Chaudhry of Bunny’s
Limited has been appointed the first chairman of the board having 16
members with 11 from the private sector and five from the public sector.

Public
sector members are Chairman Trade Development Authority of Pakistan
(TDAP), Directors General of Pakistan Council for Scientific and
Industrial Research (PCSIR), Pakistan Standard Quality Control
Authority (PSQCA), National Institute of Food Sciences and Technology
(NIFST) (Agriculture University Faisalabad) and Additional Secretary of
Industries Ministry while private sector members are: Hasnain Reza
Mirza, Permanent Representative of ICRIC/Vice Chairman, Zafar Iqbal
Chaudhry (LCCI President), Dr. Farhat Jameel, Regulatory Affairs
Manager, Nestle Pakistan, Basharat Ahmed, Advisor Corporate Affairs,
Unilever Pakistan Ltd., Saima Arshad, Pepsi Co. International, Farrukh
Baig Mirza, Al-Hamd Foods (Pvt) Ltd.