DLP Report
PESHAWAR
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Food Dr Muhammad Israr Khan on Monday said that ensuring the provision of safe, quality and adulteration-free food to citizens remains a top priority of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.
He was chairing a review meeting on the progress of ongoing projects of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority, which was attended by Director General Kashif Iqbal Jilani, Director Administration Amir Hassan, Director Operations Muhammad Yousaf, Director Technical Dr Abdul Sattar Shah, Director Finance Zahir Mahmood and other senior officials.
Dr Israr Khan said the Food Authority had finalised several major reform and digitalisation initiatives under the Good Governance Initiative, aimed at strengthening food safety standards and improving public service delivery.
He said these included the introduction of an Open Kitchen Policy for restaurants and hotels to enhance transparency and build consumer confidence, integration of food-related public complaints with the provincial government’s central grievance redressal platform “Ikhtiyar Awam App”, and the complete digitisation of registration, licensing and renewal processes for food businesses.
The Special Assistant said the reforms would not only ensure the availability of safe and quality food but also strengthen public trust in restaurants, hotels and other food outlets. He further noted that the digital complaint management system would enable swift response to public grievances and allow food safety teams to take prompt action against violations.
He added that these initiatives would be formally launched in the near future.
Dr Israr Khan said the e-licensing system would improve transparency, reduce corruption and provide convenience to food business operators by eliminating unnecessary visits to government offices.
Director General KP Food Authority Kashif Iqbal Jilani briefed the meeting on ongoing initiatives, including the Open Kitchen Policy, registration and training of food street vendors, migration of complaints to the Ikhtiyar Awam App, star rating and ranking of hotels and restaurants, digitisation of administrative operations, and large-scale testing campaigns for milk, water and cooking oil/ghee.
The meeting also reviewed future strategies to further strengthen the food safety system and improve public service delivery across the province.
