Muzafferabad
Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) Prime Minister Iftikhar Gilani has directed the relevant authorities to take effective measures to ensure the provision of safe, hygienic and quality food to the public, emphasizing that protecting public health and improving food standards must remain a key priority.
He issued these directives while chairing a meeting of the Food Department and the Food Authority to review the proposed food policy and related recommendations.
The meeting was attended by Minister for Forests Colonel (Retd.) Waqar Ahmed Noor, Principal Secretary Adnan Khurshid, Secretary Finance Hassan Masood, Secretary Food Shahid Ayub, Secretary Agriculture Chaudhry Muhammad Raqeeb, Muzaffarabad District Council Chairman Imtiaz Abbasi, Poonch District Council Chairman Javed Sharif, Mirpur District Council Chairman Naveed Akhtar Goga, Director General Food Authority Hamid Kiyani, and other relevant officials.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister was briefed on the recommendations submitted by a subcommittee regarding the proposed food policy.
Addressing the participants, Prime Minister Gilani underscored the need for coordinated and effective action by the relevant departments to improve food quality, strengthen regulatory oversight and safeguard public health. He stressed that all concerned institutions must discharge their responsibilities diligently to ensure that people have access to safe and quality food.
The Prime Minister also directed the authorities to ensure an adequate supply of quality flour in line with public demand. He observed that the government was providing a substantial subsidy on flour to ease the financial burden on the public and emphasized that flour quality, availability and distribution mechanisms must be further improved to prevent inconvenience to consumers.
He further instructed the relevant authorities to finalize the recommendations on the food policy without delay.
To strengthen institutional coordination and clarify the respective mandates of departments involved in food quality inspection and monitoring, the meeting decided to constitute a committee under the chairmanship of the Secretary Food.
The committee will include the Secretary Agriculture, Divisional Commissioner, Secretary of the Local Government Board, and Director Food. It will work to improve coordination among the relevant institutions and ensure more effective oversight of food quality and safety.
