Pakistan's headlong plunge into market economics has seen it give up all attempts at safeguarding the interests of consumers, and introduction of consumer protection measures has been at a snail's pace. Consumer protection is non-existent in Pakistan. In the absence of regulatory controls and quality checks, there are defective, over-priced and expired products in the market, but there is no place where complaints can be redressed. Last month, the local administration in the southern Punjab town of Multan conducted a survey of food and beverages outlets in the city and found all samples collected to be sub-standard and not fit for human consumption. Things are bad in Pakistan, says Samina, an advocate for breastfeeding and the implementation of international restrictions on the sale of baby foods as substitutes for mother's milk.
Officials say that food adulteration and hoarding are rampant but their hands are tied.
Just an effective complaint redressal system would change the attitude of private commercial sector towards the consumers. However, the agency did not name the brands, saying that was not part of its mandate. Earlier the EPA found unsafe lead levels in available brands of wall paint. Consumer protection groups in Pakistan have time and again demanded that the government place consumer interest at the centre of policy-making. In 1995 they won a small but significant victory when the government enacted the Consumer Protection Act for the federal capital territory.