Wheat scam: No govt official, political figure summoned for probe, clarifies inquiry committee

• Preliminary report not presented to anyone: committee.
• Committee reviews documents and statistics in meeting.
• Says it did not hold any meeting with PM Shehbaz Sharif.
  

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry committee, headed by the cabinet division secretary, said that no government or political official was summoned for probe in the matter pertaining to alleged excessive import of wheat.

According to a notification issued on Sunday, the inquiry committee probing the wheat import matter, held its first meeting wherein it reviewed the documents and the statistics.

The inquiry committee did not have any meeting with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, said the notification. 

It added that the inquiry committee's report is in the process of completion, however, the preliminary report has not been presented to anyone as of yet. 

The development comes after reports emerged that the inquiry committee might summon former caretaker prime minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar ex-finance minister Sham­shad Akhtar, and then-chief minister Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

A day earlier, Kakar denied any wrongdoing in the import of wheat and said he was ready to join the investigation into the import of the staple crop.

“I will appear before the wheat [inquiry] committee if it summons me,” the ex-premier said. 

The inquiry committee, which is being headed by Cabinet Division Secretary Kamran Afzal was constituted by PM Shehbaz last week. It has been tasked with fixing responsibilities for the import of wheat beyond demand and permission to open LCs after the month of February.

During the month of March, the private sector was allowed to import 6.91 million metric tonnes of wheat worth Rs57.192 billion. However, Kakar said that no new law was introduced to import wheat during his tenure and his government only “encouraged the private” sector to import the staple crop.

The federal government has been caught in a fix as the Balochistan and Punjab governments are unable to purchase wheat from farmers due to a surplus in stock which, so far, is being attributed to excessive import of the crop.

Due to the non-purchase of wheat by the provincial governments, wheat is being sold at a lower price than the official rate — a matter of grave concern for the farmers.

Sources told Geo News that the Ministry of National Food Security had apprised PM Shehbaz's cabinet that 28.18 million tonnes of wheat was produced last year and the caretaker government decided to import 2.45 million tonnes more.

The premier was also told that the additional wheat import caused a loss of more than Rs300 billion to the national exchequer.