Setting national standards
April 27, 2021
After a long haul, this month’s (April 7) decision by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) to have uniform food standards in the whole country might be a step in the right direction to evolve internationally competitive regulations.
But for developing a vertical consumer-friendly safe food regulatory regime, the provincial governments have to surrender the power of making standards back to the federal government by amending their food laws, and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) has to have new legislation altogether. The provincial food regulatory bodies will only have the authority to enforce the federal government standards.
The controversy about the population census is making the issues in fiscal federalism more complicated and challenging to resolve as policymakers have been stuck with the 7th National Finance Commission (NFC) award for over a decade.
The majority decision by the Council of Common Interest (CCI) to validate the 2017 Population Census and hold a fresh consensus for the next general elections has been rejected by Sindh, one of the country’s four federating units.
Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has made a pertinent point: in the past, CCI decisions were taken by the consensus of all stakeholders and not by a majority decision.
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THE composition of the Council of Common Interest (CCI) needs to be revised for making the forum truly representative of the provinces. The Council, at present, has prime minister, three federal ministers and chief ministers of the four provinces, which is unjust.
The chief minister of the province needs the support of the treasury bench in the provincial assembly and, therefore, actually represents only the ‘electors’, who voted for the party in power, or parties in case of a coalition.
On the other hand, the leader of the opposition represents the section of the opposition party or parties in the provincial assembly.
The Lahore High Court on Thursday suspended the notices issued by the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) to 20 ghee and oil mills for registration and licensing requirements. Wikimedia Commons/File
LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday suspended the notices issued by the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) to 20 ghee and oil mills for registration and licensing requirements.
Justice Ali Baqar Najafi issued a stay order on a joint petition filed by the millers.
Advocate Abuzar Salman Khan Niazi, appearing on behalf of the mills, argued that the registration and licencing was the domain of the federal government through the Pakistan Standard and Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), and not the provinces.