The initial report of the probe regarding the wheat import scandal has revealed shocking details.
Except for a few years, the country has witnessed wheat flour price hikes. During such a crisis, neither wheat nor flour vanished from the market, rather foul players engineered price surges owing to “protectionism” in the wheat policy.
Since the 1950s, Pakistan has spent trillions of rupees and billions of dollars to ensure the affordability of wheat through an inefficient policy. The economic cost of this flawed policy has ultimately been paid by the masses.
Now, according to ARY News’ report, the federal institutions are responsible for the unnecessary import of wheat.
The initial report suggests a deliberate scheme where the private sector was granted unrestricted access to import wheat during the caretaker government’s reign, leading to excessive imports and massive financial repercussions.
The investigative committee’s report has exposed a concerning situation where the Ministry of Finance, under the caretaker government, recommended an open-ended allowance for wheat imports by the private sector, surpassing the established limits.
Further investigation revealed that customs duty and GST were also waived on these imports, a decision seemingly influenced by the approval of caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar and a subsequent summary forwarded by the Ministry of National Food Security.
Despite already existing reserves of 40.47 lakh metric tons in Punjab, an additional 35.87 lakh metric tons were imported. This created an artificial shortage. Sources said that the report suspects officials from the Punjab Food Department and Pasco of involvement in the scandal.
The investigation has found that wheat was imported for Rs 2600-2900 per maund and sold at a higher price of Rs 4700 per maund. The import permission was granted for 1 million metric tons, but it was exceeded without limit, sources added.
Sources revealed that the federal institutions allowed private companies to import wheat without proper checks, and some officials from the Ministry of Finance also failed to scrutinize the large-scale import.
The complete report will be presented to the government within three days, sources added. It is to be noted here that the wheat import caused a $1 billion loss to the national bank.
