THERE would hardly be any words to describe the torment some residents of Layyah had to go through. Nothing else but a box of sweets proved enough to devour the lives of 20 people.

The box of sweets purchased from a local shop was poisonous. After the incident, many people were brought to hospitals but to no avail. The toxin was so intense that many people died on the spot without fighting for their lives.

It is correct to some extent that an internal fight against corrupt food-suppliers has been launched by the Punjab food authority’s director Ayesha Mumtaz, but it also appears be a one-person shoow, which is the reason that the incident has occurred at a place relatively distant from Lahore.

The owner of the bakery shop and his co-partners deserve justice.

Abdur Rehman Khan

Lahore

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2016