• Says authorities are empowered to auction seized goods under anti-profiteering law to prevent market manipulation
• Four non-custom paid vehicles used by customs officers impounded by excise officials, meeting told

KARACHI: Amid the ongoing price hike, which occurs during every Ramazan, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah on Monday ordered a crackdown on profiteers and directed the administration to seize and auction hoarded goods in accordance with the existing anti-profiteering laws to ensure effective price control.

In a typical pattern, the prices of essential commodities and traditional edibles have sharply increased, with the administration failing to enforce the officially notified prices in the province, particularly in Karachi. While the market forces and chain of supply are stated to be the key factors behind the price hike, a weak oversight by the administration —which doesn’t have ample staff to take action against the profiteers across the city — leaves people at the mercy of retailers.

In 2023, over 100 section officers (SOs) of different provincial departments had been given magisterial powers to take action against profiteering and hoarding during Ramazan in Karachi alone.

Presiding over a high-level meeting on price control, the CM issued strict directives to regulate the prices of essential commodities across the province, emphasising that artificial price hikes and hoarding would not be tolerated.

According to a press statement issued from the CM House, the chief minister reminded the officials that the anti-profiteering law empowered the government to seize and auction hoarded goods to prevent market manipulation. He therefore directed the administration to ensure seizure of the hoarded goods and auction them under the law.

The Karachi commissioner informed the meeting that over 250 “Bachat Bazaars” (discount markets) were operating in the city to provide relief to citizens. The CM stressed that these markets must be well-organised and effectively regulated to ensure smooth operations and prevent traffic congestion.

Mr Shah also directed the deputy commissioners, through divisional commissioners, to regularly visit markets to monitor prices and curb unnecessary inflation.

He ordered that price lists be printed and distributed promptly and instructed officials to monitor price compliance closely throughout Ramazan. Additionally, he emphasised that major retail stores should also be compelled to maintain reasonable prices.

Concern over utilities

Expressing concern over gas shortages, the chief minister demanded its uninterrupted supply during Ramazan.

He also instructed the mayor to ensure adequate water supply in the city and directed the energy minister to immediately contact power distribution companies to stop electricity outages.

Tampered vehicles

During another meeting, the chief minister directed Excise Minister Mukesh Chawla to begin impounding non-customs paid (NCP) vehicles and those with tampered chassis numbers that were being operated in the city.

The excise minister informed the CM that his department had already impounded four vehicles being used by customs officers in the city.

He said that these vehicles did not have valid number plates, and their chassis numbers had been tampered with.

The chief minister issued clear directives to both the excise police and the district police to take action against such vehicles, impound them, and report back to him.

The meeting was attended by Provincial Ministers Sharjeel Memon, Nasir Shah, Zia Lanjar, Special Assistant for the Bureau of Supply & Prices Usman Ghani Hingoro, Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab, Chief Secretary Asif Hyder Shah, Principal Secretary Agha Wasif, Commissioner Syed Hassan Naqvi, Sindh police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon, Agriculture Secretary Sohail Qureshi, while the Commissioners of Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, and Larkana participated via video link.

Published in Dawn, March 4th, 2025