PM Imran directs wheat, sugar crisis inquiry report be made public

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday ordered the investigative report regarding the artificial shortage of wheat flour and sugar in the country be made public as soon as possible, reported The News.

The prime minister made the remarks while chairing a meeting reviewing the current wheat situation in the country. The premier, during the meeting, directed that strict accountability of all those trying to enforce an artificial shortage of wheat and sugar in the country.

According to The News, the premier also tasked his close confidants with revealing the names of those found involved in creating the crisis and vowed to punish them.

PM Imran said there would be no respite for the guilty, as the government bore great humiliation and criticism because of the action of a few. He added the government’s policy was based on transparency and no one would be allowed to sabotage it.

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The meeting also discussed a set course of action regarding the wheat situation in the country, national demand, available stock and future requirements. The meeting was briefed on the overall wheat situation, wheat production in previous years, national consumption, import and export of this commodity in the past, and prevalent situation.

The country has been facing a serious case of sugar shortage with sugar prices climbing up to as high as Rs64 a kilo during the incumbent government's 15 months in power. In January, the wholesale rate rose from Rs64 to Rs74 per kg as an acute shortage surfaced in the country.

Three-member body to probe sugar crisis

Last month the prime minister commissioned a three-member committee led by the director-general of the (DG) Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to probe the sugar price crisis in the country.

According to a statement released by the Prime Minister’s Office, “The committee shall identify and fix responsibility, if any, on any individual, officer or organisation or any purported benefit to a private party, besides suggesting a way forward for future course of action.”

The committee will investigate the matter from various angles, keeping in view 14 questions, including whether the initial export of sugar (which exacerbated the crisis) justified. The committee is also interested in whether any subsidy was given on the export of sugar and what the impact of that subsidy was, and who benefited from it."

Read also: After wheat shortage, Pakistan now faces sugar crisis

Moreover, the committee will also gauge the difference in the production of sugar from past years and see if the purchase price of the sugarcane was exorbitant this year.

The committee will also find out the extent of the delays in the purchase of sugarcane from farmers.

Additionally, the committee shall investigate the presence of oligopolies in the sugar sector.

Other responsibilities include identification of illegal stockpiles if any, and the justification for sugar export. Lastly, the committee shall observe the role of the stakeholders, including government institutions, in the increase in prices.

Originally published in The News