Sindh Govt Responsible For Ongoing Artificial Wheat Flour Crisis In Province: Haleem

KARACHI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Jan, 2020 ) :Vice President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Haleem Adil Sheikh Sunday said that the Sindh government was directly responsible for ongoing artificial wheat flour crisis in the province.

He said for last few days, some vested interests were trying to put responsibility on the Federal Government for shortage of wheat and Atta in the markets.

Addressing a press conference here flanked by PTI leaders Firdous Shamim Naqvi, Ashraf Qureshi, Khuram Sher Zaman, Hunaid Lakhani, Aftab Jahangir and Capt Jameel Ahmed, he said that the facts tell a different story and expose the ugly face of provincial government of Sindh, its corruption and mismanagement allegedly.

Giving facts about wheat stock, PTI leader said, in PASCO godowns, there was a stock pile of 0.4 million tonnes wheat of Sindh government, but the Sindh government had lifted only 0.1 million tonnes and the rest 0.3 million tonnes was kept in the PASCO godowns.

He said, during Nawaz Sharif government, an agreement was inked to supply wheat to Afghanistan, but the present Federal Government ended this agreement in July 2019.

He made it clear that lifting of wheat from PASCO godowns and its distribution to flour mills and other stakeholders was the responsibility of the provincial government.

Haleem alleged that Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Chairman was decrying about injustice with Sindh, but the injustice was done by those who looted government fund and did corruption in wheat procurement and distribution.

The ruling party PPP was behind the artificial crisis of wheat flour in Sindh, he said adding that under the 18th amendment the food department was now with the provincial government of Sindh, and hopefully PPP leadership would give a statement in this regard.

He alleged that corruption mafia in Sindh had sold 0.8 million tonnes of wheat on credit to their favorite people and made no recovery from them, now the National Accountability Bureau took action against them and recovered Rs 10 billion from them.

Haleem said the federal government had started sending 10,000 tonnes of wheat to Karachi and Hyderabad through NLC trucks to improve the supply and demand of Atta in the local markets.

Opposition leader in Sindh Assembly Firdous Shamim Naqvi alleged that PPP leaders and provincial ministers had created an artificial shortage of Atta and unrealistic increase in its price.

Naqvi claimed that it was a big scam, Sindh ministers were responsible for it as most of the flour mills in Sindh were owned by PPP's assembly members, they were directly involved in present artificial crisis.

MPA Khuram Sher Zaman appealed to the NAB to initiate probe into the wheat flour shortage and increase in its price in the markets.