ISLAMABAD: The newly created National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority (NAFSA), formed by replacing the Department of Plant Protection (DPP) and Animal Quarantine Department (AQD), is set to hold its first Board of Governors (BoG) meeting on Wednesday (September 3, 2025), in Islamabad. But even before its formal launch through approval by the legislature, the authority is facing mounting criticism for duplicating the roles already performed by provincial food safety authorities and agriculture departments.
According to official documents, the inaugural meeting will introduce board members, approve rules for its functioning, and deliberate on the establishment of a secretariat, statutory committees, and a permanent headquarters in Islamabad. The agenda also includes approval of business regulations, an organizational structure, and budgetary frameworks.
However, experts and stakeholders argue that the move amounts to little more than an unnecessary bureaucratic exercise to accommodate favourites in bureaucracy and business circles. They note that DPP was originally constituted as Pakistan’s official National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO), mandated under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) through the Destructive Insects & Pests Act, 1914, and later the Pakistan Plant Quarantine Act, 1976. Likewise, AQD was established to fulfil Pakistan’s obligations under the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) to regulate trade in animals and animal products.
Critics highlight that by turning these international treaty-mandated organizations into a corporate body, the federal government is in sheer violation of Article VI of the IPPC and provisions of the OIE, which clearly stipulate that phytosanitary certificates can only be issued by civil servants. They further argue that by excluding key qualifications such as Entomology, Plant Pathology, Plant Protection, Animal Husbandry, and Veterinary Medicine from the eligibility criteria for its leadership under the NAFSA Ordinance, 2025, the government has deliberately weakened technical oversight in violation of international commitments.
Another contentious point is that food safety is a provincial subject under the 18th Constitutional Amendment. Provinces have already enacted their own food authority laws, communicated them to the WTO and FAO, and certify exports independently. Establishing a federal-level food safety authority, therefore, amounts to trespassing on provincial autonomy without the required resolutions from provincial assemblies.
Industry insiders also argue that while DPP and AQD were already under-resourced, lacking qualified staff, infrastructure, and funding, the government chose not to strengthen them but instead created a new authority. Billions of rupees will now be spent on building new offices and infrastructure for NAFSA, despite its mandate largely overlapping with existing institutions.
The authority was established earlier this year through an ordinance, reportedly pushed by former Secretary Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry and his team under the claim of streamlining Pakistan’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) regime. Officials argue NAFSA will reduce export rejections and bring Pakistan in line with WTO, Codex Alimentarius, IPPC, and OIE standards. But critics counter that no such corporatized regulator exists anywhere in the world for SPS measures.
Serious practical challenges remain. NAFSA has no accredited laboratories, no internationally recognized certification system, and is still relying on deputationists from DPP, AQD, PARC, and provincial departments. Many qualified senior officers have been sidelined or unlawfully removed, in violation of federal cabinet instructions. “Changing the nameplate doesn’t solve the problem. The same officials, the same labs, the same compliance gaps remain,” an insider said.
Moreover, the working paper for the September 3 meeting reveals that NAFSA plans to build a permanent headquarters on four acres at NARC, Islamabad, funded under PSDP in FY 2026-27. Critics say this will divert scarce development funds at a time when agricultural exports are declining and compliance failures abroad are increasing.
Compounding these concerns, Pakistan has already faced 45 interceptions from EU member states since the constitution of NAFSA, reportedly due to the controversial appointment of a Customs officer as head of the defunct DPP and now NAFSA.
The BoG is also expected to deliberate on rules for appointing its Director General, creation of statutory advisory committees, and adoption of federal government rules until NAFSA develops its own regulations. Its draft budget for FY 2025-26 is set to be reviewed by the Finance and Audit Committee in an upcoming meeting.
While the government touts NAFSA as a much-needed reform, many stakeholders fear it risks becoming yet another bureaucratic layer, expensive, overlapping, and detached from ground realities, leaving exporters to bear the brunt of continued compliance failures.
