Amid the vibrant displays of fruits and vegetables across Islamabad’s markets lies a routine of deception that has become all too familiar. While official price lists are issued daily by the administration to curb profiteering, many retailers openly disregard them, relying instead on creative justifications and an uninformed public to continue unchecked overcharging.
Despite wholesale markets adhering to government-issued rates, vendors at the retail level often inflate prices arbitrarily. A stroll through the city’s stalls quickly reveals the discrepancy: tomatoes listed at Rs55 per kilogram on the official chart were being sold for as much as Rs100, while mangoes priced at Rs200 were going for over twice that amount. Enforcement, clearly, is either ineffective or absent.
What enables this rampant overpricing? A mix of low consumer awareness, vendor impunity, and lax enforcement. Many shoppers remain unaware that a daily price list even exists, let alone how to access or challenge violations of it. For those trying to buy basic essentials, haggling has become routine—an exhausting, often futile exercise. “Every shop sets its own price,” a student remarked. “Nobody follows the list, and we don’t know who to complain to.”
The excuses from vendors are also well-rehearsed: rising fuel prices, transport strikes, crop shortages, and inflated wholesale costs. But these claims ring hollow when the Deputy Commissioner of Islamabad himself confirms that Sabzi Mandis across the city are abiding by official prices. “The shopkeepers’ complaints are baseless,” he said, urging citizens to visit the wholesale markets and verify for themselves.
The law does permit a reasonable markup over wholesale rates, but what’s happening in practice is unjustified profiteering. Many vendors display the rate list perfunctorily, if at all. Some hide it behind stacks of crates, others avoid marking packaged goods with prices, and several quote different rates based on how informed the customer seems.
What’s more troubling is the lack of consistent oversight. While price control officers are tasked with daily inspections, these efforts become truly visible only during Ramzan or Eid. The rest of the year, regulation becomes a low priority, allowing price manipulation to continue largely unchallenged.
It doesn’t have to be this way. The mechanisms for consumer recourse exist—complaints can be lodged via the Pakistan Citizen Portal or directly to assistant commissioners and the DC Control Room. But these channels remain underutilized, largely because the public is unaware of them.
Real change requires more than lists pinned to vendor stalls or occasional enforcement drives. What’s needed is a shift toward a culture of consistent compliance and accountability. This includes regular monitoring, digital rate boards, mobile applications that update prices in real time, and easier ways for consumers to report violations on the spot.
Price regulation should not be a seasonal effort. In a country where inflation continues to bite, and ordinary citizens are struggling to make ends meet, the government must treat this issue with the urgency it deserves. The tools are there—the challenge lies in using them consistently and transparently. Only then can we move toward markets that operate fairly, protect consumers, and uphold the very idea of public regulation.
