KARACHI, Sept 26: A federal government's quality control team was held hostage by the management of a defence ministry's superstore briefly and threatened with dire consequences before being released on Sunday, an official told Dawn .

The official of the Pakistan Standards Quality Control Authority, Rehmatullah Memon, said that some substandard and unregistered consumer products were found in the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) superstore situated on Korangi Road near the Christian cemetery during a raid and the management was directed not to sell those products.

He said no report had been lodged with the police against the CSD management for creating hurdles for the federal government officials in the performance of their duties.

However, a report had been sent to the minister who was coming to the city on Monday and further steps in the matter would be taken as per his directions, he added.

Narrating the incident, he said that when the PSQCA raiding team, accompanied by representatives of the media and non-governmental organisations, arrived at the CSD superstore and started collecting samples, the management people of the store came over and directed them to leave the stores immediately. However, the team continued its work. The management then directed its staff to pull down the shutters and close the doors of the store, which was immediately done.

The closure created panic among the over 50 customers, including women and children, who were there and did not know what was happening and immediately started crying and shouting for help.

The management directing the team to leave immediately warned that if they did not leave, they would be sent behind bars, said the PSQCA official.

He said the store management also contacted their officer-in-charge, retired colonel Zakaria, over the telephone and he also started threatening the raiding team on phone, directing them to leave the place immediately.

The retired colonel was informed that the PSQCA Act 1996 gave powers to the authority to conduct raids at any place in the country to check the standard and quality of consumer products.

After a while sense prevailed and the doors were opened and the customers as well as the raiding team, after completing its work, left the store.

Mr Memon said that during the tests conducted in the PSQCA mobile laboratory, the CSD cooking oil was found containing more than prescribed quantity of free fatty acid (FFA) and had less amount of vitamin A and was not according to the prescribed standards. The CSD cooking oil manufactured in Multan was declared substandard, he said.

He said many other consumer products, including CSD chilli powder, coking oil, ghee, turmeric powder, CSD tea, Ispahani brand tea, Key brand vinegar and Bake Parlor vinegar, which had not been registered with the PSQCA were also being sold at the CSD superstore which was illegal.

He said the CSD management was directed not to sell those products. Legal action was also being initiated against the CSD.

He said that after the raid at the CSD superstore the team raided the DHA Sunday Bazaar and found that substandard Mofi brand ghee/oil containing more free fatty acids and less vitamins was being sold there.

The team also found many consumer products, which had not been registered with the PSQCA, including Prowes brand turmeric, tea, sugar, etc was being sold there, which was illegal as the consumer products not registered with the PSQCA could not be sold, he said.

Mr Memon said substandard and unregistered products had been confiscated from the DHA market and legal action was being initiated against the sellers.