‘Will put the whole lot earlier than nation’: PM Shehbaz on wheat import scandal

“We are going to put the whole lot earlier than the nation,” PM Shehbaz mentioned throughout a gathering with Cupboard Division Secretary Kamran Ali Afzal, the bureaucrat main the probe into the mentioned situation.

Directing Afzal to repair accountability and inform the person(s) accountable for the scandal, the premier ordered the cupboard secretary to work out suggestions with accessible information and paperwork and submit the ultimate report by Monday (tomorrow).

The premier’s remarks got here because the federal authorities has been caught in a repair after the Balochistan and Punjab governments have been unable to buy wheat from the farmers because of a surplus in inventory which, to this point, is being attributed to extreme import of the crop.

Because of the non-purchase of wheat by the provincial governments, wheat is being bought at a lower cost than the official fee — a matter of grave concern for the farmers.

Nonetheless, a day earlier, former caretaker prime minister Kakar, whereas talking throughout an interview, dominated out his position within the prevailing disaster stressing that “it is not a job of a major minister to supervise wheat manufacturing”.

Commenting on the choice to import wheat, he mentioned that solely 3.4 million metric tonnes of the mentioned crop was imported whereas the scarcity was of 4 million metric tonnes.

Sources informed Geo Information that the Ministry of Nationwide Meals Safety had apprised PM Shehbaz’s cupboard that 28.18 million tonnes of wheat was produced final yr and the caretaker authorities determined to import 2.45 million tonnes extra.

The premier has additionally been informed that the extra wheat import brought about a lack of greater than Rs300 billion to the nationwide exchequer.

Individually, chairing a gathering in Lahore, PM Shehbaz reassured that the federal government will procure 1.8 million metric tonnes of wheat by the Pakistan Agricultural and Storage and Companies Company (Passco) to ease the financial issues of farmers.

Taking severe discover of the reviews of difficulties being confronted by farmers, the PM mentioned that there can be no compromise on the financial safety of growers and ordered the related officers to personally oversee wheat procurement alternatives.

Moreover, PM Shehbaz has additionally constituted a nationwide meals safety committee to make sure farmers’ facilitation concerning wheat procurement and tackle their considerations.

The committee would take measures inside 4 days to safeguard farmers’ pursuits.

In the meantime, apprising the prime minister concerning the hindrances within the ongoing investigation, Secretary Afzal refuted the reviews suggesting that Kakar and the then-caretaker chief minister Punjab Mohsin Naqvi have been summoned by the investigation staff.

“Neither caretaker PM nor [Mohsin] Naqvi was summoned [in the investigation],” he mentioned.

Shedding mild on the scandal, authorities paperwork accessible with Geo Information reveal that the nation had 113,529 metric tonnes of carry-forward inventory of wheat when PM Shehbaz took workplace.

Revealing that the caretaker authorities imported wheat costing Rs98.5 billion, the paperwork present that the Finance Ministry allowed the import of 0.5 million metric tonnes of wheat on September 27, 2023, through the personal sector on the time when the greenback was being exchanged at 305 in opposition to the native forex.

The imported wheat had price the federal government greater than Rs93 per kilogram.

In the meantime, former secretary meals safety Muhammad Mehmood had despatched the abstract of wheat import to the prime minister, whereas the Ministry of Maritime Affairs directed to prioritise the arrival of imported wheat at ports.

The allow to import wheat additionally provisioned an choice to revise the abstract if required.

It additionally confirmed that 75% of wheat procurement targets from provinces have been achieved final yr.

The wheat manufacturing goal for 2023 within the 4 provinces was set at 28.18 million metric tonnes.

In 2022-23, there was 1.63 million metric tonnes of carry-forward wheat inventory within the nation.

In the meantime, the doc additionally mentions the wheat quota for the armed forces (2022-23) with the Pakistan Military’s 175,000 metric tonnes, Pakistan Air Pressure’s 10,500 metric tonnes and Pakistan Navy’s 2,200 metric tonnes.

For provinces, the quota for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was 1.4 million metric tonnes, Gilgit Baltistan’s 200,000 metric tonnes and Azad Kashmir’s 300,000 metric tonnes of wheat.

Utility shops’ quota was fastened at 400,000 tonnes, whereas 244,810 metric tonnes of wheat was allotted for others.

In whole, 2.732 million metric tonnes of wheat quota was allotted for numerous establishments and provincial governments.