Gandapur rejects reports of the wheat scandal

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur has rejected reports of a wheat scandal in the province, stating that for the first time in the province’s history, wheat was purchased directly from farmers, resulting in significant savings of Rs10 billion in transportation and other expenses.

He revealed that PASSCO imported substandard wheat worth Rs10 billion from Ukraine during the caretaker government and sold it to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He dismissed rumours of a forward bloc being formed in the province. He said the country suffered losses and personal vendettas should be set aside for the national interest.

Speaking to this correspondent, Gandapur said the country was facing an administrative and legal crisis where neither the rule of law was being upheld nor justice was available. He alleged that personal vendettas were being pursued against Imran Khan, while PTI leaders and workers were continuously being targeted.

He said that institutions were warned about the situation, but they were wasting time, causing irreparable damage. He said repeated experiments had pushed the country to the brink of disaster.

On the wheat scandal, Gandapur said the allegations against him were baseless, and he had served defamation notices on NAB and a private news channel. He clarified that the chief minister had no direct role in wheat procurement and that all the matters were handled through department and monitoring committees.

Discussing his government’s performance, he said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was performing better than other provinces, while Punjab and Sindh were facing corruption and mismanagement.

Regarding the forward bloc, he dismissed Sher Afzal Marwat’s statement, saying no such bloc was being formed and that his remarks should not be taken seriously. He expressed disappointment that he had not been allowed to meet Imran Khan.