Astha Saxena
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Mail Today  |  
New Delhi, April 30, 2015 | UPDATED 09:24 IST

आलू भुजिया बीफ मसाला लिखा पैकेट

These packets carrying potato bhujia & ‘beef masala’ were spotted in relief material sent from Pak to Nepal.After
experiencing major devastation and loss of lives in the April 25
earthquake, Nepal is left with an unsavoury taste in the mouth when it
received packets of ‘beef masala’ as part of the relief package from
Pakistan.
Since the majority-Hindu country treats cows as sacred
and there is a blanket ban on slaughtering the animal, the development
has the potential of triggering diplomatic acrimony between the South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) member countries.
Indian
doctors at Kathmandu’s Bir Hospital told Mail Today that packets of
‘beef masala’ were sent by Pakistan on Tuesday as part of relief aid to
the temblor survivors. These doctors – drawn from Ram Manohar Lohia
(RML) Hospital, Safdarjung Hospital and All India Institute of Medical
Sciences (AIIMS) – are members of a 34-member medical team sent to Nepal
for treating the survivors.
“When we reached the airport to
collect the food items from Pakistan, we found packets of ready-to-eat
meals, including packets of ‘beef masala’. There were other food items
too,” Dr Balwinder Singh told Mail Today.
Perplexed, the doctors chose to have food from a hotel instead. “We did not touch the Pakistani aid,” Dr Singh said.
“Most
of the local people are not aware of the contents. When they
understand, they avoid it,” said another doctor on the condition of
anonymity. He added: “Pakistan has hurt Nepal’s religious sentiments by
supplying the masala. Shockingly, it did not care about the sensitivity
of the matter.”
Exclusive photographs of the ‘beef masala’ packets supplied to Nepal are with Mail Today.
These
pictures clearly show that the place of origin of these packets was
Nowshera Cantt in Pakistan. These packets also prominently mention that
these are not for sale and the contents include ‘potato bhujia’ and
‘beef masala’ (see photograph, right).
A top Nepal government
official said: “The matter has been conveyed to Prime Minister Sushil
Koirala and the intelligence chief. We are also starting an internal
inquiry to verify the facts. If the report is correct, we will raise the
matter at the diplomatic level with Pakistan. India, being our key
partner, will also be informed of the developments.”
Tasneem
Aslam, spokesperson for Pakistan’s ministry of foreign affairs, told
Mail Today: “I am not aware of the issue… I am not responsible for the
dispatch. The relief aid is sent by the National Disaster Management
Authority.”
A press note uploaded on the website of National
Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Pakistan
(http://www.ndma.gov.pk/new/), states: “(The) National Disaster
Management Authority has dispatched the second of two sorties of C-130
aircrafts on April 28 in collaboration with Pakistan Army, Ministry of
Foreign Affairs and Pakistan Air Force. The relief goods include 250
tents, 200 food packs (2.6 tonne), 1,000 Meals Ready to Eat (MREs),
1,000 blankets and 33 cartons of medicines. These relief goods have been
provided from NDMA stocks….”
Pakistani soldiers load relief supplies for Nepal.
Despite repeated attempts, the officials of the Pakistan NDMA could not be contacted.
The
food items have been manufactured by PANA Force Foods. The consignment
was supplied after receiving orders from Pakistan’s NDMA.
“PANA
Force food processing centre aims at providing quality goods at
affordable prices. Currently, the company is supplying two brands of
products to Pakistan Army commonly known as Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) and
Emergency Pack Ration (EP Ration or high-energy biscuits) whereas a
plant for the production of dehydrated vegetables and fruits is under
construction,” the official website of PANA Force Foods mentions.
The
website also states that the processing centre provides food to civil
population during natural calamities, like earthquakes and floods.
According
to Hindu belief, eating beef is a religious offence since cow is a
sacred animal and treated on a par with one’s mother.
In Nepal –
for long the world’s only Hindu state – the first royal order officially
prohibiting cow slaughter stated that the punishments for the crime
were death and confiscation of all property of the offender.
The
first Civil Code of Nepal, the Muluki Ain of 1854, stated: “This kingdom
is the only kingdom in the world where cows, women, and Brahmins may
not be killed.” It trumpeted Nepal as the ‘purest Hindu kingdom’ and
simultaneously signaled to Nepalese citizens that Hindu religious creeds
would be the law of the land.
But an amendment in 1990 to the Civil Code made cow slaughter punishable by 12 years in prison.

स्त्रोत :: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/nepal-earthquake-pakistan-relief-aid-beef-masala-pana-force-foods-bir-hospital/1/432868.html