Ghani demands NAB take action on Rs300b sugar scam

KARACHI: Sindh Education and Labour Minister Saeed Ghani has said the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) is yet to see corruption to the tune of Rs300 billion detected in the sugar scandal as it has not taken action against Prime Minister Imran Khan and his cronies after they were named in the scam.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, Ghani said the terms of reference (ToRs) of the sugar inquiry commission included the increase in the sugar price in the years 2018-19 and 2019-20 that deprived the people of a sum of over Rs300 billion.

He said decisions taken in a meeting of the federal cabinet with the prime minister in chair had led to the increase in the sugar price in the country.

The PM had constituted the sugar inquiry commission on February 20, which submitted its report on March 9, Ghani said. He added that action should have been initiated promptly on the findings of the inquiry commission but it never took place because the inquiry report mentioned the names of the PM himself and his cronies including Asad Umar, Abdul Razzak Dawood and Hafeez Sheikh.

Ghani claimed that due to this fact, the order to conduct the forensic examination of the inquiry report was issued later on.

He said all the controversial decisions like the increase in prices of medicines and gas, and import of drugs from India, were taken in meetings of the federal cabinet chaired by the PM. He said the PM gave approval to such proposals and later he himself ordered inquiry into such matters.

Calling the federal government selected and incompetent, Ghani said it obtained more loans during the last one year than what the previous Pakistan Peoples Party-led federal government took in its entire five-year term.

He said that in case, NAB had intention to prove its impartial conduct, it should immediately launch action against elements involved in looting Rs300 billion from the people in the form of inflated sugar price.

Stranded overseas Pakistanis had been suffering immensely owing to the policies of the federal government as despite paying three times of the normal air ticket price to the Pakistan International Airlines, they were being brought back to their homeland like livestock, Ghani said.