Businesses deny financial loss, retaliation; seeking the intervention of the Home Secretary
ISLAMABAD:
Serious allegations have surfaced against Islamabad Food Authority (IFA) Food Safety Officer Nafeesa Kiran, including allegations of demanding bribes, abuse of authority and carrying out retaliatory actions that have allegedly caused severe financial and psychological distress to a local trader.
The affected trader, Muhammad Ahmed, has released a video statement detailing the allegations and has also threatened to take his own life. He has appealed to Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Syed Mohsin Naqvi to take immediate notice of the matter.
According to Ahmed, he has been engaged in the milk supply business for several years and has met all legal and regulatory requirements. Despite this, he claims that he has been subjected to continuous harassment by the said food authority.
The retailer claims that milk worth approximately Rs 400,000 was destroyed without any formal notice and without taking samples for laboratory tests, resulting in significant financial loss.
In his video statement, the trader questioned why a business license was issued to him if his milk was allegedly adulterated and conversely where the laboratory samples and test reports were if the milk was indeed substandard.
He further stated that to date he has not received any test report or copy of a sample analysis. Ahmed also alleged that certain officials from the Danish Food and Drug Administration pressured him to pay bribes and that after his refusal, strict and punitive actions were taken against him.
According to the dealer, these alleged retaliatory measures led to a steady decline in his business, leaving him burdened with debts of approximately Rs 5 million.
He said persistent enforcement actions and increasing psychological pressure had pushed him to the point where he contemplated suicide.
The development came a day after the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) booked three shopkeepers for producing and selling adulterated milk in Rawalpindi. During the operations, three traders involved in counterfeiting were caught and cases were registered against the shop owners. According to a spokesperson, the PFA DG conducted inspections at the highway toll plaza and various locations across Rawalpindi where 2,700 liters of adulterated and unsafe milk was disposed of.
The food authority team inspected a total of four milk shops at Sixth Road, Kuri Road and Sohan. Cases were filed against three of these shops, while three other milk shops were closed for adulteration. In addition, two piles of vegetable oil used for milk adulteration were recovered and destroyed. The spokesman also stated that 15,000 liters of milk transported in three milk tankers were checked at the motorway toll facility. Those involved in milk adulteration and preparation of unsafe milk using harmful chemicals will be dealt with strictly under the law.
