Chitral .. Over the years Chitral bazars have become dumping ground for fake, adulterated and substandard merchandise, whether it be food items, medicines, cosmetics, shoes, apparel or other items of common use. Even life saving drugs are not spared.

One reason for this crime against society is that the shopkeepers of Chitral in their quest to become rich overnight, borrow substandard items from unscrupulous wholesalers dealing in such items. The incentive for the shopkeeper is that the whole salers of pipal mandi Peshawar and those of Rawalpindi and Lahore cities give their items on credit to the Chitrali shopkeepers, which genuine whole sellers would not. The substandard merchandise is sold in Chitral at much the same price as that of genuine merchandise. The whole-sellers, the transporters and the shopkeepers make their profit while the consumers suffer from diseases, malnutrition and poor health because of this.

The government as it is, can not be much effective in checking this crime, but the clerics and prayer leaders can do the trick, by declaring selling of fake items as gunah kabira and unpardonable by Allah, as they fall in the category of Haqooq ul Ibaad. .. CN report, 07 Apr 2017