ISLAMABAD: Wheat worth 330 billion rupees was imported in seven months—from August 2023 to March 2024—and 1.3 million metric tonnes of this commodity were found to be defective— suggest the reportedly initial findings of the inquiry committee probing the wheat import scandal.

Some 2.8 million metric tonnes wheat worth Rs 250 billion was imported in the tenure of the former federal caretaker government whereas 700,000 or 0.7 million metric tonnes wheat worth Rs 80 billion was imported by the present federal government, the inquiry panel’s reportedly initial findings, that surfaced on Sunday, suggested.

A total of more than Rs 330 billion or $ 1.1 billion was spent by Pakistan on the wheat import, according to the reports.

PM forms body to probe wheat import matter

The federal government kept mum; it neither confirmed nor denied these reported findings on Sunday.

The reported findings revealed that the wheat was imported from the six countries.

The first of the total 70 wheat consignments reached Pakistan on September 20 last year and the last consignment arrived here on March 31, this year, it is learnt.

It bears mentioning here that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed an inquiry committee, headed by Secretary Cabinet Division Kamran Ali Afzal, to investigate the wheat import scandal.

The panel is scheduled to submit its final report to the PM today (Monday).

There were unconfirmed reports that the panel summoned former caretaker finance minister Shamshad Akhtar on Sunday.

Before that, reports suggested that former caretaker PM Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar and current Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, in his former official capacity as caretaker chief minister Punjab, were summoned by the inquiry committee— but the inquiry panel head denied these reports on Saturday.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024