Permits for vegetable import from India: commerce under immense pressure from VIPs

The Commerce Ministry is reportedly under immense pressure to issue import permits from India to influential parties, including federal ministers and parliamentarians, who have allegedly been given advances by interested parties, insiders and officials exclusively told Business Recorder.
Commerce Ministry officials have already been questioned by the standing committees of both National Assembly and Senate for allowing import of 10 million tons of used lube oil and furnace oil, which is a banned item internationally. Additional Secretary Shafqat Naghmi, who played a key role in allowing import of used lube oil, was replaced when he went on two months'' leave after the scam was unearthed by Business Recorder. Naghmi had spent several years in Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) whose financial record is being scrutinised.
"Yes, we are being pressurised to issue special permissions in at least 20 cases to import fresh vegetables etc from India which will hurt the local growers," confirmed one official of the Ministry.
On Saturday, one Minister of State was seen visiting different offices in the Commerce Ministry to receive the special permit for a Lahore-based importer.
He also went to the office of Additional Secretary-1, Khawaja Zaheer for clearance of his case.
Zaheer is officer in charge during the absence of Commerce Secretary Zafar Mahmood from the country who is in Washington as part of Pakistan''s delegation to US-Pakistan strategic dialogue.
"This Minister has received money from the importer; that''s why he is going from door to door for clearance of his file," claimed one official who is dealing with these cases.
Sources said the Commerce Minister is resisting pressure with the argument that he would either allow import of fresh vegetables etc across the board or continue to slap a ban on these items.
Standing committees of the National Assembly and Senate are also investigating mega corruption scams worth billions of rupees in the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) and National Insurance Corporation Limited (NICL).
The top officials of TCP and NICL are allegedly involved in receiving huge grafts in different deals. For instance, TCP''s two influential officials received huge kickbacks from deals that include import of wheat, sugar, rice, fertiliser and transportation contracts. One Director, Ghulam Nabi Mangreo, was ousted on corruption charges. He made his best efforts to rejoin TCP but the recently transferred Chairman Saeed Khan who is a reputed bureaucrat foiled all his attempts.
New Chairman Anjum Bashir, who took ''spiritual advice'' from Commerce Minister Amin Fahim before taking charge, has conveyed to all Directors, including Director Finance and Director Commercial, that corruption would not be tolerated.
The incumbent CEO of NICL is being questioned by a panel of the National Assembly on corruption charges. The next meeting of the committee is expected to be held during the second week of April. NICL CEO refuted all charges levelled by the standing committee, saying that both deals were transparent.