No more yak sacrifice on Eid in Karachi

KARACHI - Sacrificing yaks on Eid has come to a stop in Pakistan’s largest city due to a theological “doubt”, a media report said Monday.

Around 30 yaks used to be brought Karachi on Eid-ul-Azha from areas as far as Skardu and Baltistan till about four years back.

Cattle Market Administrator Shahab Ali Ikram told The News that yaks were first brought to the city in 2004 and a large number of people showed interest in buying yaks for sacrificial purposes.

The next year, the traders involved in getting yaks earned handsome return with yaks being sold between Rs.150,000 and Rs.175,000.

“Since yaks are an anomaly in the city, a lot of people paid a visit to the market to simply look at them,” Ikram was quoted as saying.

However, word soon spread of the theological legitimacy among customers and this hit yak sale.

“Some animals are Halal to eat but their sacrifice on Eid is prohibited. For instance, a deers meat is allowed for consumption, but its sacrifice is not permissible.

Since the inhabitants of areas where yaks are reared considered them to be different species than cows, there is a doubt. To avoid any doubt, it is better that yaks are not sacrificed, said religious scholar Mufti Munib-ur-Rahman.