LAHORE: Blaming the Sindh government for doing politics on the issue of sugar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr. Shahbaz Gill alleged that Sindh government deliberately delayed the crushing of sugarcane. "The mills, which used to start its operations in October, are resuming in November, which is unjust for just cheap political point scoring," Shahbaz told media here Sunday.
Holding Sindh government responsible for recent sugar crisis in the country, he said the sugar mills were deliberately closed down by the provincial government. He said that increase in demand of sugar and delay in crushing of sugarcane caused hike in price of the commodity.
Dr Shahbaz Gill asked the opposition members who are hitting hard to the government over sugar price hike to bring stocks of their sugar mills to market. When action is taken, they used to get stay order from the court of law; he said, adding: "How the prices could be maintained in such a situation."
He also criticized Senator Pervaiz Rasheed of PML-N for trying to befool the people by saying that petrol prices are lower in India. Sharing some documents, Gill said that petrol prices are lowest in the region. He, however, said the whole world including Pakistan is greatly affected by the rising tendency of inflation. He said the government is cognizant about the problems being faced by the poor and taking effective steps to provide maximum relief to them.
Moreover, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Chaudhry Fawad Hussain said on Sunday that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is the only national party which has a national agenda. In a tweet on Sunday, he said Pakistan's opposition is fragmented having no similarity in ideology. The opposition's movement against the country's only federal party PTI is nothing but an attempt to survive in the news, as they have no program for the country, he added.
On the other hand, SACM and spokesperson Government of the Punjab Hasaan Khawar has termed the PM Imran Khan's Rs. 120 billion "Ehsaas Ration Programme' a commendable step for the welfare and betterment of needy and deprived segments of the society. Under this programme, a monthly subsidy of Rs.1000 will be given to the 100 million people of 20 million families on flour, pulses and ghee, he said, adding: "Registration of families earning less than Rs 31,000 per month will be started from Monday (today)."
A web portal will be set up for this purpose and deserving families will be able to buy daily necessities such as flour, pulses and ghee at affordable prices from utility stores and retail shops, he said. He added that retail stores willing to get registered for this programme will be verified first.
He further stated that the government is fully aware about the problems of the lower segments of society and is making serious efforts for their redressal.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021