By Investigative Desk
Karachi, June 2025
In what experts are calling one of the most damaging regulatory missteps in recent memory, senior officials at the newly established National Agri-Trade and Food Safety Authority (NAFSA), alongside the Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) and defunct Department of Plant Protection (DPP), have implemented policies severely undermining Methyl Bromide (MeBr) fumigation – a critical quarantine treatment that is mandatory for all imported agricultural products. The use of Methyl Bromide plays a critical role in thwarting entry and spread of insects, disease causing plant pathogens, weed seeds, soil, plant debris and other foreign broad spectrum biosecurity risks in the country to protect the nation’s food security, food safety, natural resources and export reputation.
NAFSA’s pesticide review committee, whose decisions paved the way for this ban, operates in flagrant disregard of Pakistan’s own legal framework and international treaty obligations. Despite the establishment of NAFSA under an ordinance in 2025 designed to modernize agricultural biosecurity governance, the authority has sidestepped the expert-mandated National Biosecurity Technical Committee (NBTC) and National Plant Health Committee (NPHC) – bodies charged by law with oversight on such critical matters.
Instead, pesticide decisions are being made by an ad hoc committee lacking technical expertise, staffed by politically appointed officials from unrelated departments like the Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) and Pakistan Central Cotton Committee (PCCC). Such arrangements violate the World Trade Organization’s SPS Agreement requirements and the International Plant Protection Convention’s (IPPC) standards, exposing Pakistan to serious legal and trade risks.
A Regulatory Maelstrom
The leadership at NAFSA and MNFSR responsible for this regulatory maelstrom includes officials with questionable credentials and murky track records. The current Director Technical Quarantine & Pesticides Registration faces multiple FIRs and investigations for alleged complicity in issuing biosecurity clearances to infested soybean cargoes — a scandal that has wrought havoc on Pakistan’s environment, natural resources, and agricultural productivity.
Investigations by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have documented systemic abuse of authority, widespread corruption, and collusion between some senior and junior officials at NAFSA and vested interests. Multiple criminal cases have been registered, yet punitive action has been limited and inconsistent. Instead of addressing these root governance failures, the current administration has doubled down on punitive policies that disproportionately punish fumigators, conveniently sidelining scrutiny of their own regulatory conduct.
Grave Implications for Public Health, Food Security, and Trade
Halting methyl bromide fumigation jeopardizes Pakistan’s ability to prevent invasive pests from entering its borders and compromising domestic agriculture. Agricultural experts warn that this failure will almost certainly trigger increased pest outbreaks, crop losses, a surge in pesticide use, soaring food prices, and erosion of Pakistan’s export competitiveness.
The rice, sesame, and corn export sectors alone have suffered billions of rupees in losses during the past six months due to quarantine lapses – a crisis that will only worsen as fumigation capacity dwindles. Major trading partners such as Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, the USA, Russia, Thailand, Korea, and Mexico strictly enforce phytosanitary import conditions that require effective quarantine treatments like methyl bromide fumigation. Pakistan’s failure to meet these conditions risks widespread trade bans and long-term damage to its agricultural export reputation.
Meanwhile, exporters are caught in a regulatory limbo, facing delays and escalating costs as uncertified cargoes accumulate at ports. The lack of a competent authority to clear consignments compounds the crisis, with NAFSA’s unlawful appointment of inexperienced officials from unrelated research bodies aggravating the situation.
A Stark Contrast: Regional and International Practices
Unlike Pakistan’s reckless trajectory, neighboring countries with similar or superior agricultural profiles continue to rely on methyl bromide fumigation in compliance with international standards. India, Thailand, the Philippines, and Bangladesh carefully apply MeBr to disinfest agricultural commodities, recognizing that alternatives such as heat treatment, controlled atmosphere, or irradiation remain largely infeasible or unapproved by IPPC for broad-spectrum use.
Afghanistan – often cited as less resourced – continues to mandate methyl bromide fumigation for agricultural imports, underscoring Pakistan’s isolationist policy as an outlier even in the region. Pakistan’s abrupt and unilateral policies risk severing trade ties, damaging its agri-trade credibility, and alienating it from global biosecurity frameworks.
