Three food officials have been terminated due to corruption involving millions of rupees after wheat worth Rs 810 million went missing from warehouses in Sindh under suspicious circumstances, according to ARY News.
The officials, which include two Food Supervisors and an Assistant Food Controller, were dismissed following substantiated corruption allegations against them.
Reports indicate that Assistant Food Controller Muhammad Aqil was let go for allegedly embezzling over Rs 220.28 million, while Food Inspector Zulfiqar Ali Lakhair was dismissed for allegedly misappropriating Rs 570 million. Another Food Inspector, Fahim Azhar, was also fired for corruption amounting to over Rs 17 million.
Previously, a report from an inspection team appointed by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah disclosed that Rs 3.22 billion worth of wheat had ‘vanished’ after the floods in 2022.
The leaked 205-page report revealed that following the devastating floods, officials from the Sindh Food Department mixed 379,000 sacks of substandard wheat with dirt, leading to a staggering loss of nearly Rs 3.22 billion to the public treasury.
The report attributed the negligence that resulted in the Rs 3.22 billion loss to the responsible officials. The inquiry committee assessed wheat storage facilities across 14 districts in Sindh province.
According to the findings, losses included Rs 93 million in Jamshoro, Rs 569.3 million in Dadu, Rs 48.1 million in Ghotki, Rs 16.2 million in Sukkur, Rs 16.44 million in Khairpur Mirs, Rs 131.4 million in Jacobabad, Rs 15 million in Larkana, Rs 386.3 million in Qamber Shahdadkot, Rs 19.8 million in Naushahro Feroze, Rs 9.1 million in Sanghar, Rs 9.8 million in Benazirabad, and a staggering Rs 1,075.4 million in Malir.
