The trader denounces the financial losses and the retaliatory measures; requests the intervention of the Minister of the Interior
ISLAMABAD:
Serious allegations have been leveled against Islamabad Food Authority (IFA) Food Safety Officer Nafeesa Kiran, including accusations of demanding bribes, abuse of power and retaliatory measures that allegedly caused serious financial and psychological distress to a local trader.
The affected trader, Muhammad Ahmed, released a video statement detailing the allegations and also threatened suicide. He appealed to Federal Minister for Interior and Narcotics Control Syed Mohsin Naqvi to immediately take cognizance of the matter.
According to Ahmed, he has been engaged in the milk supply business for several years and has fulfilled all legal and regulatory requirements. Despite this, he claims to have been subjected to continuous harassment by the said Food Authority officer.
The trader claims that milk worth around Rs400,000 was destroyed without any formal notice and without taking samples for laboratory analysis, which resulted in significant financial losses.
In his video statement, the trader questioned why he was issued a business license if his milk was allegedly adulterated, and conversely, where the laboratory samples and analysis reports were located if the milk was indeed of substandard quality.
He added that to date he has not received any test reports or copies of any sample analysis. Ahmed also alleged that some Food Authority officials pressured him to pay bribes and in case he refused, strict and punitive action was taken against him.
According to the trader, these alleged retaliatory measures have led to a steady decline in his business, leaving him saddled with debts amounting to around Rs5 million.
He said the persistent coercive measures and increasing psychological pressure pushed him to the point where he contemplated suicide.
The development came a day after the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) hired three traders to produce and sell adulterated milk in Rawalpindi. During the operations, three traders involved in forgery were arrested and cases were registered against these traders. According to a spokesperson, the PFA DG conducted inspections at the highway toll plaza and various locations in Rawalpindi, during which 2,700 liters of adulterated and unsanitary milk were disposed of.
Food authority teams inspected a total of four dairies at Sixth Road, Kuri Road and Sohan. Cases have been registered against three of these shops, while three other dairies have been sealed for adulteration. In addition, two batches of vegetable oil used in milk adulteration were recovered and destroyed. The spokesperson further said that at the highway toll plaza, 15,000 liters of milk transported in three tankers were checked. Those involved in milk adulteration and preparation of unsafe milk using harmful chemicals would be strictly punished under the law.
