Kanza Ahmed case: Fast food joint sealed shut

Reports claim it reopened two hours later and was closed down again.

KARACHI: There was a crowd gathered outside Dilpasand Sweets' North Nazimabad branch on Wednesday afternoon.

The eatery is usually crowded around meal times but this crowd was not there to place orders or pick up their food. They were there to watch how their neighbourhood's famous eatery was being sealed shut by the health authorities.

The restaurant was being shut down after a report from the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research confirmed that a teenager died after eating a burger served at Dilpasand's North Nazimabad branch. The burger, said the report, was not fit for human consumption.

There were reports that two hours after it was shut down, it reopened for business by tea time and then sealed again.

Senior director medical services Dr Salma, North Nazimabad assistant commissioner Shaikh Muhammad Rafiq and health deputy director Dr Muhammad Irfan Khan made their way to the restaurant 12 days after the PCSIR report was released.After a long discussion on who should seal the restaurant, Dr Salma decided to step forward and take responsibility.

Around 4pm, they made their way to the eatery along with Central SSP Noman Siddiqui. The restaurant and its bakery were forcibly emptied. However, no arrests were made and nothing was confiscated.



According to Dr Salma, the owners and managers had bail before arrest till February 28. While talking to The Express Tribune, she said that it was mentioned in the PCSIR report that the burger was not fit for human consumption. "This restaurant is a killer — the killer of Kanza Ahmed," she said pointing towards it. "I have the power and I will ensure that it remains closed until the court takes some decision." She added that the raid was a joint action taken by the district administration, health and food department.

Rafiq, however, maintained that he was just there for support and Dr Salma was solely responsible for taking action against the food joint. He said that they were there on directions from the provincial chief secretary, Sajjad Saleem Hotiana. According to Dr Salma, this was not being done just because of a father's plea but also because the issue could not be ignored any longer.

"I told Dr Bari (Kanza's father) to give me 24 hours," she said. "And within 24 hours I have taken action." She added that city commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui and Sindh information minister Sharjeel Memon were also on board.

A family's suffering

Dr Bari, who was also present at the food joint during the raid, thanked the media for taking up the issue. "It took so long to shut the it down," he said. "But it has finally happened." He added that he had no personal enmity with the eatery or its owners, but it was the cause of his child's death.

According to sources, the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation's health inspector and police had recommended that the district administration should seal the restaurant once the PCSIR report stated the food was not fit for human consumption. A source said that the recommendation has to come from the food and quality control department and then the district office and police can take action.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 26^th, 2015.