In Bajaur, the district administration has set the price of beef at Rs 700, while butchers have been selling it at Rs 800 for the past month.
Against this new price list of the district administration, the butchers' union has been on strike for the last three days in all major commercial centers of Bajaur, due to which not only have chicken prices increased, but meat is being sold on the black market for up to Rs. 1000 per kg. The Butcher Union demands that the district administration set a minimum price of Rs 800.
Syed Hakeem Jan, President of the Butchers Union of Inayat Kalay Bazaar, said that before Ramadan, we used to sell beef at Rs 800 per kg. Still, as soon as Ramadan came, Deputy Commissioner Bajaur issued a new price list without listening to us, in which Rs 700 per kg is written. They have displayed official price lists in the markets, which has widened the distance between the public and the butchers. He said that we ask for goods from different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which incurs expenses, but the district administration has neglected it.
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Syed Hakeem Jan says that we demand that the official rate be fixed at 800 rupees, if someone is selling at a higher rate, you should fine him. He accused the district administration of levying heavy fines on us. We held talks with Assistant Commissioner Khar Mohibullah in which the official rate was fixed at Rs 750, but our union is not ready to accept it. He said that if our demand is not accepted, we will continue our strike.
The ongoing butchers' strike in Bajaur has affected the general public as well as hotel owners. Sabir Khan, associated with the Chapli Kebab business, told TNN that the district administration and the butchers' union should consider the benefit of the general public and solve this problem as soon as possible. He said that before Ramadan, meat was sold at Rs 800 per kg in Bajaur.
According to Sabir, due to the recent strike, they order meat late in the district, in which they have to suffer a loss of Rs 3,000 per kg. He said that people buy meat during Ramadan when there is a strike in Bajaur, they pay a rent of Rs 200 to Rs 300 and buy it from Munda.
We tried to contact Assistant Commissioner Mohibullah Khan Yousafzai and Deputy Commissioner Bajaur Anwar Haq regarding the strike of butchers and the price lists issued, but we could not get in touch. It should be noted that earlier Deputy Commissioner Bajaur had told the media representatives that he would ensure the implementation of the official rates in any case.
Imran Mahir, the President of the business community Inayat Kalay Bazaar, said that the district administration should take immediate notice of the strike started by the butchers in Bajaur. Butchers are also our brothers; There are people of Bajaur and just like everyone has some kind of job, the butchers also have this job.
The management, furthered Mhir, should negotiate with them and find an immediate solution to this problem as the demand for meat is high during Ramadan. Both the butchers and the administration should sit together and solve the problem because the elite class can bring meat from Peshawar, Timergarah, etc. but the middle-class people who can buy at least one kg of meat are craving meat due to the strike of the butchers.
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18 Apr, 2025
