Action in the offing against those selling substandard milk, KP Assembly told

PESHAWAR: Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru on Friday told the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly that the government had decided to launch action against those selling substandard milk.

Wrapping up the debate on the adjournment motion, he said the government was going to sack the 26 employees of the KP Food Safety and Halal Food Authority as their services were no longer required. He said that adulterated milk was being sold in the province.

He said that only 13 of the 211 milk samples taken in Peshawar could pass the quality test. In Mardan, nine of 64, in Kohat 15 out of 17, in Malakand 97 of 100, in Hazara 15 of 99 milk samples passed the test, he said, adding that in Dera Ismail Khan and Bannu all the milk samples failed to pass the quality control tests. He said that the milk from Punjab was also found to be adulterated. He said that the various chemicals were used to keep the milk fresh which were harmful for human consumption. He said the shops, which were selling adulterated milk, had been sealed and fined under the relevant laws.

Earlier, debating the issue, MPA Munir Hussain said that legislation should be carried out to check the quality of the milk and punish the ones who were involved in this practice. He said that rules should be introduced for the price control of the food items. He said that at present various cadres of officials were performing the same duty. He said that there was a separate magistrate for the cantonment while the district food controllers of the Food Department were also enjoying the powers of the magistrate. He said that the powers should be consolidated where the same mechanism should be provided for the entire province. MPA Sobia Shahid said that strict punishment should be given to the people who were involved in selling adulterated milk and other food items.

Also, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly was informed through a report of the Transport Department that as per the 2022-23 financial statement of TransPeshawar, the total operational cost of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) stood at Rs5.32 billion annually. The report further said that the daily income of the BRT was Rs5.49 million, which was not sufficient to meet the cost of the bus service. The House was told that the appreciation of the BRT at the international level was proof of its quality service for the passengers as it was chosen as one of the top five best projects of the 260 schemes worldwide.

The House forwarded the questions asked by MPA Mohammad Yameen about the alleged irregularities in the communication schemes in the Upper Dir district to the standing committee concerned.

MPA Pir Musawwar submitted a privilege motion in the House, saying that the Motorway Police officials had stopped for 40 to 45 minutes his car taking his mother to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital where she was seeking treatment. He said that when he was informed about it, he talked to the official in question who also misbehaved with him. The lawmaker said that this had violated his privilege. The House forwarded his complaint to the privilege committee.

Meanwhile, the opposition benches protested the absence of the ministers from the assembly session, which was presided over by Speaker Babar Saleem Swati.Ahmad Karim Kundi, who is the Parliamentary Party leader of the Pakistan People’s Party, objected to the absence of the ministers from the proceedings of the assembly. He said the members of the opposition were not getting answers to questions due to the absence of the relevant ministers.

Female lawmaker Neelofar Babar also expressed similar views and said that the ministers should attend the session.Defending his colleagues, Minister for Revenue and Estate Nazir Ahmad Abbasi said that any member of the cabinet could answer questions about other ministries as it was their joint responsibility.

Also, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly passed the Zakat and Ushr Amendment Bill 2024.The speaker later adjourned the assembly proceedings till Monday.