ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) Farmers Wing Information Secretary Khalid Nawaz Sadhraich has said access to safe and healthy food and genuine food security has moved beyond the reach of ordinary citizens while food producers are being pushed into humiliation and exploitation.

In a statement issued in connection with World Food Safety Day, Mr Sadhraich said toxic chemical-laced milk was being pumped into the veins of the public, especially innocent children under the guise of pure milk, while livestock farmers producing genuine and healthy milk were being economically crushed.

He revealed that more than 10 million children under the age of five did not have access to safe milk.

He further said the widespread use of adulterated flour, contaminated spices, and fruits and vegetables polluted with poisonous sprays was causing an alarming rise in diseases resulting in hospitals becoming overcrowded day by day.

He added that the funds which should have been spent on ensuring safe food were instead being diverted toward constructing and expanding hospitals while no serious attention was being paid to eliminating the root causes that were making people sick.

Khalid Nawaz Sadhraich mentioned Pakistan’s farmers work tirelessly day and night to produce pure agricultural commodities, yet the middleman mafia purchased their crops by offering only a negligible increase over production costs.

He said even that exploitation did not satisfy these mafias who further contaminated fruits and vegetables with poisonous sprays during storage and later sold them at exorbitant prices.

“No one is there to hold these mafias accountable despite the fact that they are enemies of food safety,” he remarked.

He warned that the sale of fake, adulterated and substandard products in Punjab had increased drastically.

Addressing the Punjab chief minister, he said if the government could spare some attention from celebrating construction projects, it must also focus on the serious threats facing the lives and health of ordinary citizens.

Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2026