Govt to use state resources to lower food prices from next week: Imran Khan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday said that the Pakistan Tehreek –e-Insaf (PTI) government would use all the state resources to lower the food prices.
In a tweet, PM Imran said that the government was figuring out cause of the price hikes to know if there was really a shortage of supply or hoarding was being done by cartels.
“From next week we will have our strategy in place and action would begin using all state organisations and resources to bring down food prices,” he said.
The prime minister said the state departments will find out if there was a price rise due to international prices such as for palm oil, lentils etc or due to smuggling of products.
Also Read: Govt to launch crackdown against ‘injurious’ whitening creams, says Zartaj Gul
On the other hand, Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul has said the government would launch crackdown against production, marketing and sale of injurious cosmetic products, particularly the whitening creams in the market after December.
She said the decision was taken on media complaints regarding the use of mercury in beauty creams as the main reason of skin infections and diseases among women.
Zartaj Gul said lab tests of whitening creams and soaps were conducted and four out of 14 soaps were found to be using mercury as an ingredient. Some international brands are also among the manufacturers using the injurious material in their cosmetic products. She said mercury was found in 57 out of 59 creams tested for this purpose.