ISLAMABAD: It appears that in addition to children in Peshawar’s hospitals, rats have also bitten parliamentarians and their children.

The matter was raised during a meeting of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights on Thursday, which discussed the increasing cases of rats biting children in Peshawar.

Women MNAs residing in the Parliament Lodges also took the opportunity to raise complaints about a rat infestation in the lodges.

“A rat bit me recently,” PPP MNA Musarat Rafique said. Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) MNA Aliya Karman added: “Giant rodents have attacked children. We have to block holes and open spaces to stop them from entering our apartments.”

During the meeting, it was pointed out that rodents had caused short circuiting and an ensuing fire in the Supreme Court, which is also infested with rats.

The chairman of the committee, PML-N MNA Babar Nawaz Khan said the National Assembly deputy speaker, who is in charge of the maintenance of the Parliament Lodges, would be asked to respond to the complaints.

The public health coordinator at the Peshawar District Health Office, Mohammad Asif, clarified that three people had died from rat bites as compared to figures reported in the media.

“There have been 923 cases of rat bites reported so far,” Mr Asif said. “There is no research on this species of rodent in Pakistan. We do not know if it is native or imported,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2016