SUKKUR: Police have thwarted a bid to smuggle wheat from Sindh to Punjab by taking six trailers carrying the cargo in its custody on Saturday.
Sangi police station SHO Sanaullah said on a tip-off, police foiled a bid of smuggling of thousands of maund wheat to Punjab last and taken six trailers carrying the cargo into custody.
The police official further said the trailers with wheat cargo have been handed over to the food department for necessary action.
Earlier, the government of Sindh had imposed a ban over the transfer of wheat to other provinces however; the food department officials facilitate the movement after getting gratifications, sources said.
The federal government in a letter to the Sindh chief minister recently demanded removing obstacles in the inter-provincial movement of wheat.
Federal Minister for Food Security Fakhar Imam in his letter to the chief minister demanded hurdle-free arrangements for the movement of fresh stocks of wheat.
The restrictions over free movement and transportation of wheat from Sindh to Punjab, directly affect the prices of wheat and its flour, according to the letter.
The Sindh chief minister should ensure the free movement of wheat to other provinces as per the constitution, the food security minister said in the letter.
Earlier, the Sindh government today had ordered unhindered transportation of wheat to Karachi and Hyderabad in view of a recently emerged shortage in flour mills.
According to a notice issued by the Sindh Food Department, “No vehicle carrying wheat of Flour Mills of Karachi and Hyderabad shall be intercepted by the officials of the Food Department.”
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