ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has dismissed Secretary Food Security Muhammad Asif and formed a high-level inquiry committee to investigate the issue of wheat importation in the country.
The Prime Minister has ordered a full investigation into the matter by forming a committee headed by the Secretary Cabinet Division. The prime minister, while presiding over the high-level review meeting regarding the current situation of wheat reserves in the country, asked why it was decided to import wheat despite the good production of the commodity last year.
The prime minister inquired about the import of wheat last year from the Ministry of National Food Security.
Expressing satisfaction over the production of the bumper wheat crop this year, the prime minister stressed to ensure that there is no delay in the procurement of wheat. He said that all necessary steps should be taken regarding the purchase of wheat and the farmers should be paid immediately for their hard work.
Federal Ministers Ahad Cheema, Rana Tanveer Hussain, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Jam Kamal Khan, Prime Minister’s Coordinator Rana Ehsan Afzal, and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Fakhr Alam has been appointed as Secretary of Food Security, whose appointment has been officially notified. Earlier, initial reports on the wheat import scam had revealed shocking revelations.
The initial report said that the federal agencies are responsible for the unnecessary import of wheat. An artificial shortage was created by importing an additional 35.87 lakh metric tonnes despite the existing reserves of 40.47 lakh metric tonnes in Punjab.
Sources say that in the report, officials of Punjab Food Department and PASCO are suspected to be involved in the scandal.
Investigation revealed that wheat was imported at Rs 2600-2900 per maund and sold at a higher price of Rs 4700 per maund. Sources added that the import of 10 lakh metric tonnes was allowed but exceeded the limit.
Sources revealed that federal agencies allowed private companies to import wheat without any checks and some officials of the Ministry of Finance also failed to check large-scale imports.
Import of wheat continued from September 26, 2023, to March 31, 2024, resulting in a large influx of wheat into the market. The sources further said that the complete report will be submitted to the government in three days. It is worth mentioning here that the import of wheat caused a loss of one billion dollars to the national exchequer.
