BAHAWALNAGAR: Two ring leaders of a racket involved in manufacturing fake milk and supplying it to consumers have been awarded 12 years of rigorous punishment and a Rs15m fine.

A PFA South Punjab spokesperson told Dawn that two big rackets in the large-scale manufacturing and delivery of fake milk in Bahawalnagar and its surrounding had been functioning for a long time, but despite various measures taken against them, they were getting away with it.

He stated that on Dec 16, 2024, the PFA teams raided two milk facilities on the Arifwala Road and disposed of hundreds of litres of milk, which was found to be dangerous to health through laboratory testing. Maqsood Bhatti and Zainul Abidin, the proprietors of the milk units, were charged under various sections of the Food Authority Act 2011, and they were sent behind the bars while the units were sealed. Multiple FIRs had been filed against Bhatti in other towns of Punjab for producing fake milk.

The PFA official said the authority pursued the case in the court of Civil Judge Muhammad Zia and the fake milk producers were sentenced to 12 years in prison while a fine of Rs15m was imposed on them by the civil court.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2026