Genetically modified seeds increasing disease burden in Pak: Altaf Shakoor

Karachi: Genetically modified (GM) seeds are dangerously increasing disease burden in Pakistan, devouring even meager incomes of poor families on treatment of their ailing members and thus opening flood-gates of hunger and poverty in our country, said Pasban e Pakistan President Altaf Shakoor here Sunday.He said the unholy nexus of corrupt
Pakistani rulers and greedy multinationals is behind the import of the GMO seeds in our country, which are behind ever increasing number of cancers, stroke and other diseases in Pakistan.He said one group of GMO multinationals and their local agents mint money by importing to Pakistan these seeds of diseases and another group of multinationals and their agents sell imported medicines to cure these diseases and hence both greedy groups make a windfall at the cost of poor masses of Pakistan. He said sadly the government has turned its blind eye to this affair as the corrupt ruling politicians and major financers of the Pakistani political parties and elections are also stakeholders of this slow and silent genocide of our poor masses.He said people are mostly unaware of the dangers of the GMO seeds. He warned when the masses would know about these death-distributing
seeds they would hold violent demos by putting the dead bodies of their near and dear ones who die of GMO-related diseases before Raiwind, Bilawal House and Bani Gala.He regretted that several years ago the agents corrupt mafia got approved a law to allow import of the GMO seeds in Pakistan despite knowing that several countries of the world have banned the import of these deadly seeds. He said black sheep in the PPP, PML-N and PTI are behind this scam as their politicians in parliament give a nod to the approval of this deadly law. He said not a single question was asked by any member when this black law was passed.He said the sitting rulers are eating organic food grown inside their spacious mansions but the poor people are allowed to consume the poisonous DMO foods. He said when recently a professor of a private university asked this question from a top ruler, he did not give any answer. He said the GM seeds are spreading cancers and
other diseases even in children, but the rulers and pharmaceutical mafia continue to patronize the import of this poison. He said the import of the GMO seeds increases our import bill and result in deprivation and joblessness amongst our own farmers. He said these seeds are so dangerous that not only the European countries but many poor African nations have banned their import, but in Pakistan the rulers are least interested to save the life and health of their voters. He said the GM foods have less nutrition as compared with naturally grown crops. Moreover, they have virus in them to prolong their shelf life.In Pakistan commercial production of GMOs has started without conducting risk assessments on human health and the environment and we are also importing GM crops from abroad. He said the people of Pakistan have been converted into guinea pigs by our politicians who passed amendments to the Seed Act in 2015 without asking a single question. He said ironically these same politicians have bought land for growing organic foods for themselves and their families.Altaf Shakoor demanded to immediately ban the import and local production of all sorts of the GM seeds and conduct a comprehensive medical research on incidence of paralysis and cancer are increasing on an epidemic scale, adding this situation was never observed before in Pakistan, when this country was free from the curse of the GM seeds. He said the import of the GMO seeds is a conspiracy again Pakistan to deprive this nation from attaining self-sufficiency in food. He said these seeds are a grave threat to our food security and the concerned institutions agencies should take a stern notice of this fact as a food-insecure country is more vulnerable than a country facing a direct military attack.