IFA officer accused of bribery, harassment
Serious allegations have emerged against Islamabad Food Authority (IFA) Food Safety Officer Nafeesa Kiran, including claims of demanding bribes, abuse of authority, and carrying out retaliatory actions that 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 of 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 fulfilled all legal and regulatory requirements. Despite this, he alleges that he has been subjected to continuous harassment by the said Food Authority officer.
The trader claims that milk worth approximately Rs400,000 was destroyed without any formal notice and without samples being taken for laboratory testing, resulting in significant financial losses.
In his video statement, the trader questioned why a business licence 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 been provided with any test report or copy of a sample analysis. Ahmed also alleged that certain Food Authority officials pressured him to pay bribes, and that upon his refusal, strict and punitive actions were taken against him.
According to the trader, these alleged retaliatory measures led to a steady decline in his business, leaving him burdened with debts amounting to approximately Rs5 million.
He said that persistent enforcement actions and mounting psychological pressure had pushed him to a point where he was contemplating 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 shopkeepers involved in adulteration were caught, and cases were registered against the shopkeepers. According to a spokesperson, the PFA DG conducted inspections at the motorway toll plaza and various locations across Rawalpindi, during which 2,700 litres of adulterated and unsafe milk were disposed of.
Food authority teams inspected a total of four milk shops at Sixth Road, Kuri Road, and Sohan. Cases were registered against three of these shops, while three other milk shops were sealed for adulteration. Additionally, two maunds of vegetable oil used in milk adulteration were recovered and destroyed. The spokesperson further stated that at the motorway toll plaza, 15,000 litres of milk transported in three milk tanker vehicles were checked. Those involved in milk adulteration and the preparation of unsafe milk using harmful chemicals would be dealt with strictly under the law.