‘It’s a marathon’: Pakistan allocates budget to fight rat infestation in parliament

ISLAMABAD: Authorities in Pakistan’s federal capital have allocated Rs1.2 million ($4,320) to combat a rat infestation in the building of the country’s lower house of parliament, the BBC reported on Wednesday, with the pests having gnawed away at important official documents.
The rat problem at the National Assembly building came to light after an official committee asked to see the records of meetings from 2008, which were found to have been badly gnawed by rats.
“The rats on this floor are so huge that even cats might be afraid of them,” National Assembly spokesman Zafar Sultan told the BBC, saying most of the rats could be found on the first floor, which houses the building’s food hall, as well as the office of the senate opposition leader. Most meetings of political parties and standing committees also take place here.
Sultan said the rats generally kept themselves out of sight until people left the building. 
“When there are usually no people here in the evening, the rats run around in there like it’s a marathon,” the BBC quoted Sultan as saying. “The staff posted there are now used to this, but if someone comes here for the first time, they get scared.”
The BBC said Pakistani authorities had published newspapers advertisements to identify pest control companies and received interest from two firms. 
Pakistani TV channel Geo News reported that the Capital Development Authority was mulling employing hunting cats to catch rats in parliament.