PML-N spokesperson Aurangzeb demands PM Imran, CM Buzdar be summoned for sugar crisis inquiry

LAHORE: PML-N spokesperson Marriyum Aurangzeb on Friday said that in the wake of the wheat and sugar shortages, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar should be summoned before an inquiry commission constituted to investigate the crises.

"The decisions taken by the Prime Minister and Chief Minister Punjab benefitted those who were hoarding and driving up the prices of sugar and wheat across the country," she said. She added that people of Pakistan had been hurt by these decisions.

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"Investors took advantage of the policies made by the incumbent government," she said. "Those who made these policies are the real culprits, and should be summoned for investigations," she remarked during a press briefing. 

"The NAB-Niazi nexus has arrested the opposition and the media before inquiries into cases have been completed," she noted, adding that the opposition and media persons were being kept in jail cells reserved for inmates on death row.

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Benami business of sugar stirs debate

Sources say that the sale and purchase of sugar to the benefit of sugar barons across the country was carried out under benami businesses. National Accountability Bureau is already investigating a number of cases related to benami accounts, assets and transactions.

According to sources, 192 influential individuals were involved in this business, and the sale and purchase of sugar was carried out under the names of domestic help, drivers, shopkeepers, and daily wage earners.