These items, which did not carry the PSQCA’s seal, were chilli powder, cooking oil, ghee, turmeric powder, two brands of tea and two brands of vinegar.
The team that carried out the raid - a routine procedure in the PSQCA’s quality and standard testing drive - faced problems when the management of the store refused to cooperate with it.
“At first we were denied entry and we had to show them the special permission of the DHA administrator along with a copy of the PSQCA laws. But when we were inside, a few men inside the store took us hostage and the management pulled down the shutters,” claimed Rehmatullah Memon, the spokesman for the PSQCA. “We contacted the zonal incharge of the CSD, Col (retd) Zakriya, on the phone and he asked us to leave the premises to avoid any unpleasant situation.”
Consumer Association of Pakistan President Kokab Iqbal and Consumer Rights Pakistan Secretary Muhammed Omer Khan Ghauri, who were part of the team, informed the CSD management about the PSQCA laws.
The media personnel, who were also accompanying the team, also protested the CSD management’s behaviour and demanded transparent testing of items in the store.
Later, the CSD management finally allowed the PSQCA team to carry out its work, after which it confiscated eight items.
A CSD official told The Express Tribune that the CSD stores sell goods that are purchased from Customs. “Smuggled or other items confiscated by the customs is procured by the CSD and sold at subsidised rates to customers.”
The PSQCA team also raided the DHA Sunday Bachat Bazaar and confiscated products that did not carry the authority’s seal.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2010.
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