THIS refers to the news report ‘PM’s presence in NA does little to quell squabbling’ (Nov 26) wherein it is reported that the minister presenting a bill to establish a ‘Halal Authority’ explained that the purpose of the authority “is to increase the country’s exports of Halal items”.

Perhaps the authors of the bill do not know that there is not a single country in the entire world that restricts imports from Pakistan on account of items not being Halal.

Halal certification required by any country is currently easily satisfied by private sector exporters without any problems.

The country’s exports are hampered owing to the poor quality of products and the inability of suppliers to meet stringent safety standards required to access international markets.

Khalid Khan

Lahore

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2015