An unusual situation arose during a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on National Food Security on Wednesday when the committee chair mistakenly interpreted an acronym in the agenda as referring to camels.
The hilarious mix-up arose during a meeting discussing the “Community Action Plan for Management of Sustainable Ecosystem Lives and Livelihood (Camell).”
However, committee chair Senator Syed Masroor Ahsan reportedly read the acronym ‘Camell’ as ‘camel’, leading to a discussion about measures being taken for the protection and improvement of camels in Tharparkar.
“You are not taking the ministry seriously; that is why you come with half the details,” he remarked, while discussing what he believed to be matters related to camel conservation.
Senator Ahsan asked officials about what work was being done for the protection and betterment of camels in Tharparkar.
Senator Danesh Kumar also commented during the exchange, saying, “What details will the DG provide? He cannot even spell camel correctly.”
Minister of State for National Food Security and Research Malik Rasheed stated that work was being carried out on camel breeding and assured the committee that complete details would be shared in the next meeting.
Meanwhile, Awami National Party (ANP) leader Aimal Wali Khan pointed out that it must be examined whether the federal government even had the authority in the matter after the 18th Amendment.
The confusion was eventually clarified by a member of the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, who explained that the discussion was about ‘Camell’, not camel, saying it was an acronym for a programme related to the community action plan.
At this, the chairman replied, “Camel is only one. What are you talking about?”
Once the situation became clear, members of the committee burst into laughter, bringing a light-hearted moment to the otherwise formal proceedings.
