Pakistan, Aug. 3 -- Food inflation in Punjab has reached alarming levels, leaving consumers frustrated as they pay far more than government-approved rates. Despite setting up new price control departments, the government has failed to enforce these rates effectively in markets across the province. Citizens are now questioning the value of these departments, which seem to increase administrative costs without solving the problem.

This week, essential vegetables and poultry products were sold at prices much higher than the fixed rates. Not a single vegetable was available for under Rs 200 per kilogram, showing a clear failure of price enforcement. Even though authorities revised official rates, vendors continued charging inflated prices, a...