Pakistan Ulema Council issues fatwa against hoarding of basic food items, profiteering

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Ulema Council (PUC) on Monday issued a fatwa against hoarding of basic food items and profiteering, urging the government to take strict action against those found guilty of the offence as several cities in the country undergo a lock down due to the coronavirus scare. 

The council said that profiteering and hoarding basic food items are haram (impermissible) in Islam. The PUC said that under the current circumstances, hoarding basic good items made life difficult for the people and was prohibited according to the Shariah.

The PUC called on traders to ensure basic food items were available for people and urged the government to take strict action against hoarders and profiteers.

In a statement, the PUC called on the government to seize hoarded food items and provide them to the people. The council said that at a time when society was in need of God's mercy, such acts would invite His wrath only.

The PUC asked the government to crack down on the perpetrators of the malpractices and hand them exemplary punishments.

The fatwa came at a time when the coronavirus has caused lockdowns in almost all cities of the country and sparked fears that the supply of basic food items will be disrupted.

PM Imran, in his address to the nation on Monday, warned hoarders and profiteers that the state will hand them exemplary punishments if they did not desist from the offences.