SWAT: The ulema and religious scholars from across the Swat district on Wednesday vowed to help the authorities curb sale of adulterated and impure food items in the bazaars.

They were speaking at a meeting with officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority here on Wednesday.

The meeting was organised to raise awareness against adulteration and impurities in food items in the district.

Led by Mufti Hamidullah, Maulana Umar Aziz and Maulana Abdullah, religious figures from different areas and seminaries participated in the meeting.

The meeting was presided over by the food authority’s deputy director, Swat, Asad Qasim.

The ulema assured the officials to highlight the issues related to food safety and adulteration in food items through Islamic jurisprudence, especially in their Friday sermons.

They said nobody could sell adulterated food items under Shariah.

Every kind of adulteration and hoarding is completely prohibited in Islam and those who do so will be punished under Shariah and Islamic laws, the ulema vowed, warning that expired food items must not be sold to people.

On the occasion, Asad Qasim said the food authority had launched an awareness programme to discourage traders from selling adulterated and impure food items to consumers.

“This programme has been started to sensitise the people to the issue of adulteration and hoarding in Swat. We have also started a campaign to check restaurants and shops to ensure sale of pure and safe food items to consumers,” he said.

Mr Qasim said the campaign would continue in Mingora and other tehsils till the menace was eliminated.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2021