Sugar probe.

THE government of Prime Minister Imran Khan is being commended for sharing with the public the findings of the FIA-led inquiry commission set up last month to conduct a forensic analysis of nine sugar companies to determine the reasons for an abrupt and steep surge in the domestic price of sugar during the winter. Even the alleged involvement of some key politicians - or their close relatives - linked to the PTI government and its allies at the centre and in Punjab did not deter Mr Khan from ordering a more thorough probe and making its conclusions public. Some would argue that the factional differences within the PTI might have led the government to release the report. The recent statements by Jahangir Khan Tareen - who bankrolled the PTI's election campaign in 2018 and was a close adviser of Mr Khan - that he was being victimised by the bureaucracy have lent some support to this argument. But that does not detract from the report's findings or the government's bold act of making it public.

The investigation was ordered by the prime minister to expand on the report of an earlier inquiry into the matter with the promise of stringent action against those involved in what is one of most publicised scams in recent years. The commission has done a good job in documenting the way the sugar business is conducted in Pakistan at a huge cost to the national exchequer, taxpayers and unsuspecting consumers. It also highlights the way politically powerful sugar barons use their clout to manipulate the market and government policies to steal...

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