Crisis mongers can't topple PTI govt: PM Imran.

ISLAMABAD / KARACHI -- Prime Minister Imran Khan on Saturday vowed that the influential sugar and flour barons and others manipulating the prices of essential edibles and creating one artificial crisis after another would not go unpunished.

The premier's vow came as an FIA chief-led probe body formed to identify the people responsible for the recent flour shortage submitted its report to him according to which the crisis that started in last November and worsened around mid-January was artificially created.

'The people responsible for these crises won't be spared no matter how influential they are,' Imran said during a meeting with members of the PTI's social media team.

'I wake up in the morning and check my cell phone to see which new crisis I will have to deal with today,' he added. 'That's why I remain prepared to face any crisis.'

'Punjab, Sindh govts behind wheat crisis'

Elaborating on the challenges he faces, the prime minister said even if there was no criticism from the opposition, one of the government's own ministers ended up saying something controversial that had to be taken care of.

'There are ministers who prefer sitting at Kohisar Market in Islamabad instead of in their offices,' he said without naming them.

The premier said he had no qualms over positive criticism on social media but it was necessary to confirm the authenticity of a news item before assailing the government.

'Fake news is deliberately spread against the government and sometimes even our own people fall for this propaganda,' he noted, adding that the media groups which were trying to overthrow the government would not succeed in their designs.

A committee headed by FIA Director General Wajid Zia has found that the recent flour crisis was artificial as there was no shortage of wheat in the country.

It informed the premier in its report that the country's wheat reserves stood at 21 million tonnes. It declared mismanagement as the main reason for the crisis.

PM orders sugar crisis instigators unmasked

In some parts of the country, the flour price had reached up to Rs85 per kg. Mill owners were refusing to sell flour at Rs40 per kg and unwarranted statements by federal and provincial ministers and government officials also fuelled public outrage, according to the report.

The prime minister also conceded the government's negligence in failing to curb the prices of flour and sugar.

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Addressing a ceremony in Karachi via a video link from Islamabad...