Profiteering, prices of essential items: Karachi authorities intensify crackdown

KARACHI: Karachi authorities will intensify crackdown on profiteering, with all assistant commissioners and magistrates set to conduct simultaneous field inspections on Tuesday to check prices of essential food items, including flour, bread, naan, beef and mutton.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Commissioner Karachi Syed Hassan Naqvi on Monday, attended by all deputy commissioners and assistant commissioners.

Naqvi directed officials to ensure strict enforcement of government-notified prices and take firm action against traders found overcharging consumers. He said heavy fines would be imposed on profiteers, while habitual violators could face arrest and the sealing of their shops. “All deputy commissioners must ensure that official prices are strictly enforced and essential commodities are available to citizens at notified rates,” Naqvi said.

The meeting reviewed the performance of the ongoing price-control campaign as well as measures against roadside encroachments and other civic issues. Officials reported that between Aug. 24 and Aug. 30, prices were checked at 2,409 locations across Karachi. Action was taken against 376 profiteers, with fines totalling 1.996 million rupees imposed. Seventeen shops were sealed and four traders were arrested, while 611 shopkeepers were issued warnings. According to the report, prices at more than 1,100 shops were found to be satisfactory.

The meeting also reviewed egg prices and expressed dissatisfaction over their prevailing rates. It was decided that representatives of the egg traders’ association would be summoned and directed to ensure that eggs were made available to consumers at reasonable prices.

Naqvi instructed deputy commissioners and field officers to maintain regular monitoring and ensure that consumers were not charged above officially notified rates.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026