- Coordinator-General COMTECH reveals Halal business growing over 20%
By Hamid Khan Wazir
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Minister for Science and Technology Shibli Faraz has stressed the need that labs should have the capacity to determine Halal and Haram with the focus on a complete food value chain.
Speaking at a three-day COMSTECH Training Course on “How to establish Halal testing laboratory” in Islamabad on Tuesday, the minister said that “By our conviction, Islam is a way of life. Islam sets food standards for humanity. Halal means doing things in a lawful manner.”
Shibli Faraz said that the focus should be given on ensuring healthy food quality. The Minister encouraged all Halal industry-related institutions to develop a mechanism for increasing capacities and advised that universities should be part of this as well.
Faraz highlighted the way forward for research by mentioning that there is a huge gap between research done in the past in Pakistan and its application.
The minister emphasized that research should bring benefit to the people of Pakistan and the entire humanity. He said that research should yield to patent and then be commercialized.
Professor Dr. Iqbal Choudhary, Coordinator-General COMTECH said that Halal accreditation and certification is a niche in which we can achieve excellence. He said that the Halal business is growing over 20% and there are no major Halal certification bodies in Muslim Countries.
Dr. Choudhary said that we at COMSTECH are focused on science-based commercialization and developing capacity in OIC member states focusing on the application of scientific research output. He said that the theme of today’s event is relevant to the industrial development of Pakistan and OIC.
The Secretary-General, The Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), Turkey, İhsan ÖVÜT, said that we need to develop common standards with the commitment to practice them to compete internationally.
The inaugural session was addressed by Ismat Gul Khattak, Director General, Pakistan National Accreditation Council, Akhtar A. Bughio, Director General, Pakistan Halal Authority, and Professor Dr. Syed Ghulam Musharraf, Professor, Dr. Panjwani Center for Molecular Medicine and Drug Research, ICCBS, Karachi.
The inaugural session was attended by 800 participants online while 80 people took part in person.
This three-day event will end on Thursday, June 10
