ISLAMABAD: A committee formed on the direction of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has found four officials of the Ministry of National Food Security involved in the wheat import scandal worth billions of dollars.
The officials included former secretary Muhammad Asif against whom formal legal action has been ordered. Former director general plant protection AD Abid has been suspended.
Moreover, two food commissioners have also been suspended. The inquiry committee did not find any other figure involved in the scam and it meant that these four officials alone were responsible for the scam worth billions of dollars.
On May 9, Prime Minister Sharif had ordered the constitution of the committee to probe who ordered the import when the country had surplus stock of wheat.
A member of the National Assembly recently told the house that the ship carrying the wheat reached Pakistan eight days after the caretaker government approved its import. In routine, a ship takes over a month to reach Pakistan from Ukraine.
The MNA said it meant order had already been placed for the wheat import and it is yet to be ascertained who had ordered it and why.
Because of the import of wheat, the government godowns are now full of the Ukrainian wheat and local farmers are protesting against non-purchase of their wheat by the food department.
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