Beggars Turn Qurbani Donations Into Business, Selling Meat for Rs. 800 Per Kg

PAKISTAN: There has been an alarming trend in Rawalpindi and Islamabad this Eid al-Azha. Beggars are forming organized groups to collect sacrificial meat for needy families and are allegedly reselling the meat for profit rather than giving the meat to deserving recipients.

Groups knock on doors in various sectors of the area, asking residents for qurbani meat for distribution to the poor and needy. Citizens have found out after giving the meat to the groups that a large majority of the meat is sold at local meat markets.

It has also been reported that there is a temporary meat market on Jamia Masjid Road, Rawalpindi, where these groups are openly selling sacrificial meat at discounted prices. The reported prices for the meat sold at that location were beef selling at around Rs. 800/kg and mutton selling for between Rs. 1500-1600/kg. The prices were much lower than the same cuts of meat would be sold for at the market on Eid days.

Reports suggest that local butchers, shopkeepers, and residents have been purchasing the meat in large quantities due to the comparatively lower prices. The development has raised serious concerns among citizens, social workers, and community members, who fear that this organized activity could deprive genuinely deserving families of their rightful share of sacrificial meat during Eid-ul-Azha.