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You will soon be able to call 0800-Halal to seek answers to questions of ‘haram’ and ‘halal. The Pakistani government moved a step closer to establishing a halal food authority in the country as it deliberated on opening offices nationwide and setting up a toll-free helpline.
These discussions took place during a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Pakistan Halal Authority (PHA). This was the fourth meeting of the board and was chaired by the Federal Minister for Science and Technology Agha Hassan Baloch.
During the meeting, the board approved the establishment of the authority’s regional offices at provincial headquarters including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar and Quetta. The board also approved the opening of offices of the authority at all major seaports of the country, including at the Karachi Port Trust (KPT) and Port Qasim Authority (PQA) in Karachi, and Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) in Balochistan.
The federal minister stated that establishing offices in provincial capitals and at ports will help the authority regulate halal products and services as per international practices and promote the halal sector.
A proposal to recruit staff for these offices after clearing tests by the National Testing Service (NTS) with strict compliance with provincial quota allocation was also approved by the board.
Baloch stressed the need to ensure transparency in the recruitment process alongside the implementation of provincial quotas according to merit.
At the suggestion of the federal minister, the PHA proposed to set up a toll-free number: 0800-halal to enable consumers to quickly communicate with companies and address grievances.
Moreover, the government has approved the rules of business for PHA and certification regulation – a milestone for the authority. After the approval of business rules, the PHA will be able to regulate halal products and services as per international practices by implementing a Pakistan Halal logo as a mark of halal assurance.
Halal certification marks are a key step for ease of doing business and single window operation, it will also provide registration and recognition of local/foreign Halal certification bodies (HCBs).
Federal Minister Baloch stated that it was critical to incorporate the input of shariah experts when developing the halal certification.
PHA is also the first organization operating under the administrative control of the science and technology ministry which has developed a set of business rules to run its operations.
Baloch expressed his resolve to make PHA self-sustainable within a year or so, thereafter this authority will meet all its expenditures including salaries itself and not take a single rupee from the government.
