I love to cook but there is always a reason why I never entertained the thought of doing it professionally for any reason, there are too many things that can go wrong if a mistake ends up getting made.
More than two dozen people have died after consuming poisoned sweets in central Pakistan.
As Hayat’s grandson, now named Abdullah, was born on Wednesday, his father Mohammad Sajjad ran to a nearby sweet shop in Chak 111-TDA in the evening and bought five kilograms of laddu to celebrate the occasion.
He had no idea that the laddu he had bought was laced with some deadly poison. Those who consumed the sweetmeat have died since, one after another, or have been fighting for life. Hayat has lost his eight sons, including Sajjad, one daughter, and three grandchildren.
“We’ve buried 15 bodies in one graveyard since Thursday. May Lord forgive us,” cries Ghulam Hussain, a neighbor of Hayat.
Police were called in to investigate what happened. They found that there were pesticides mixed into the food.
On that fateful day, dozens of others who had bought sweets from that shop — Tariq Hotel and Sweet Shop — have either died or are in hospitals of Layyah, Multan, Bhakkar, and Faisalabad.
On Monday, the death toll from the mass poisoning rose to 26.
The residents say that after consuming the sweets, the family members started vomiting. They were rushed to the Layyah District Headquarters Hospital. Around that time, the other victims of the mass poisoning were also brought to this hospital and other medical facilities in Fatehpur, Bhakkar, and Karor. Doctors referred those in critical condition to the well-equipped Nishtar Hospital, Multan. Doctors, however, could not save 26 of the 72 people admitted to hospitals on Wednesday.
Police wanted to know how the poison was mixed into the dessert. As they began questioning workers at the hotel, one person came forward to claim responsibility for the murderous act. But they said it was done by mistake.
Police official Akba said, “As of this moment, the results of the forensic tests of the deceased, as well as the pastries themselves, are still pending.”
The pesticides were added to the powdered flavoring. The reason for the mix-up was because the only words written on the packages were English. The language barrier resulted in the deaths of more than two dozen people.
“There was a pesticide shop close by, and this shop was being renovated. The owner of the shop had also left the pesticide at the bakery for safekeeping,” said Rameez Bukhari, a senior police official.
Health department officials said that a poisonous substance namely selfonyle was found in the sweet which was very lethal. The substance is banned and cannot be sold in Pakistan. It is ironic, however, that every pesticide shop is selling it.
Sad to say Pakistan has poor food safety standards and hygiene laws are rarely implemented.
