Sugar barons swindled Rs140 billion: Imran

SARGODHA: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Wednesday that sugar mill owners extracted Rs126 to Rs140 billion from the pockets of the people by increasing the price of sugar by Rs26 in one year.

Talking to the media after laying the foundation stone of low-cost housing units under the Naya Pakistan Housing Programme here, the prime minister said: “The government’s job is to protect its people.”

He added that the government conducted an inquiry into the sugar scam through the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), which submitted a startling report showing how the mill owners and powerful people had minted money by increasing the price, evading tax, etc.

The prime minister reiterated that there could not be different sets of laws for the powerful and the poor as destruction in a society had always been caused by the powerful elite. Imran Khan said a society cannot survive without rule of law and when the powerful and corrupt elite are not held accountable for their misdeeds. He linked prosperity and progress of a nation to the rule of law and its application to all.

Responding to a question regarding release of Mian Shahbaz Sharif on bail, Imran Khan said the corrupt rulers had siphoned off billions of rupees from the national exchequer. “There were irrefutable evidences about their corruption. Unless a society decides to hold the corrupt accountable, no change can take place,” he said, posing a question, “Name a nation where there is rule of law and it is still reeling back in poverty?”

“Today, the issues of poverty and price hike in the country are the symptoms of their corruption,” he added. The prime minister also said that he was ready to listen to the reservations of Jahangir Khan Tareen and the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf’s like-minded group of 20-30 MNAs and MPAs who have become active since investigations were opened against Jahangir Tareen over the sugar crisis.

“I am ready to listen to everyone but people should understand why all of this happened,” he said. “If anyone has any reservations we can look into it.” About the affordable housing project, the prime minister said it was being made possible because in the past no one in Pakistan ever thought of the poor people.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan said the government's special focus on housing and construction sector would strengthen national economy, stabilise industrial growth and generate employment for youth.

He said promotion of the housing sector would not only ensure economic activity, but also help the common man realize his dream of owning a home. Under the project, a total of 1,175 houses measuring three marlas each will be constructed at six places in Sargodha district.

The Punjab government will provide land and other facilities for the project. The construction work will be carried out by the Frontier Works Organization. The Bank of Punjab taking charge of mortgage facility will enable deserving people to pay the total price of the house in easy installments.

Imran Khan said for the first time in the country’s history, a mortgage house finance was launched at such a big scale, but at the lowest markup rate. He said the low-cost housing scheme would be expanded to all tehsils of the country by the year end.

Imran Khan regretted that delay in accommodation projects by previous governments led to mushroom growth of slums which had no basic amenities of life. He said no one in the past demonstrated empathy for the poor and kept them living in harsh conditions without proper shelters.

The prime minister stressed the important role of banks in lending loans to public and mentioned that the clearance of foreclosure law of banks after a long time resulted in finalisation of the massive housing project. He pointed that banks were not providing proper services to those aspiring loans and called upon the relevant authorities to give the staff proper training to improve public dealing.

The prime minister lauded Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar for successfully overseeing across-the-ministerial housing project. He appreciated that the Punjab government had taken lead in providing land for the project and expressed confidence that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa would also follow suit.

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar said the project would be expanded to 146 tehsils. He said the monthly installment had been set at Rs10,000 to make the project affordable. He said a subsidy of Rs0.3 million by the government of Punjab would facilitate the people, adding that the Punjab cabinet had approved Rs3 billion for the purpose.

Earlier, the prime minister laid the foundation-stone of affordable houses and planted a sapling in line with the Clean and Green Project. For the allotment of houses in Sargodha district, the Naya Pakistan Housing Authority will allot houses to the deserving people through ballot. Around 33,528 applications have been received by the government.

Meanwhile, the first virtual summit between Prime Minister Imran Khan and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev was held Wednesday. During the wide-ranging talks, views were exchanged on bilateral, regional and international issues. The two sides highlighted the depth of Pakistan-Uzbekistan relations rooted in common faith, shared history and cultural affinities. They also reiterated their determination to maintain momentum of high-level exchanges and further enhance the upward trajectory of the relationship.

The two leaders reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations -- with particular focus on political, trade, security and defence, educational and cultural domains. They also agreed to encourage more people-to-people contacts including through spiritual (ziyarat) tourism, says the Prime Minister Office.

The prime minister also underscored the importance of rail, road and air connectivity and highlighted the enormous potential that exists in diverse fields to build an expanded mutually-beneficial partnership.

Imran Khan highlighted Pakistan’s economic security paradigm and the shifting focus to geo-economics. He stressed that Central Asia was a region of particular focus in this vision.

He underlined the importance of enhancing political and diplomatic linkages, fast tracking trade and economic cooperation, ensuring early finalisation of the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and Transit Trade Agreement (TTA), increasing security and defence cooperation, and taking steps to deepen mutual collaboration in the fields of education, culture and tourism.

The level of progress on the Trans-Afghan Railway Line Project -- agreed between Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan earlier this year -- was reviewed. The project would be a first step in linking the Central Asian transport network with Pakistani seaports of Gwadar, Karachi and Qasim.

Prime Minister Imran Khan stated that, once completed, the initiative would transform the geo-economic dynamics of the entire regime. The two leaders also discussed important global and regional matters of mutual interest, and reaffirmed the commitment to continue supporting each other at all international and regional fora, including the UN, OIC, SCO and ECO.

Imran Khan apprised the Uzbek president on the latest situation in IIOJ&K, shared Pakistan’s perspective on issues of peace and security in South Asia, and underlined the imperative of peaceful resolution to the Jammu & Kashmir dispute.

The prime minister also highlighted Pakistan’s efforts to facilitate the Afghan peace process for lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan. He stressed that this historic opportunity must be seized by the Afghan parties to achieve an inclusive, broad-based and comprehensively negotiated political settlement.

He also underscored the importance of countering Islamophobia and promoting inter-faith harmony. Agreements/memorandums of understanding signed on the occasion included: MoU for developing further cooperation in the field of agriculture; agreement on mutual recognition in the fields of conformity assessment of products, standardisation, metrology and technical assistance; and MoU on defence cooperation.

The Uzbek president reiterated his invitation to Prime Minister Imran Khan to attend the high-level international conference on regional connectivity in Tashkent in July. Imran Khan thanked Mirziyoyev and reiterated his invitation to him to visit Pakistan at the earliest convenience.

The two leaders expressed confidence that the understandings reached during the virtual summit will further deepen bilateral cooperation and contribute towards forging a stronger, multi-dimensional relationship between the two countries. It was agreed to continue the summit-level political dialogue in future.

Also on Wednesday, Prime Minister Imran Khan wished the Sikh community a happy Baisakhi festival and said the government granted Sikh diaspora and Indian yatrees special permission to visit their holy gurdwaras in Pakistan and attend the Baisakhi rituals.

The prime minister tweeted: “Wishing our Sikh community a happy Baisakhi festival. We have granted Sikh Diaspora & Indian Yatrees special permission to visit their holy Gurdwaras in Pak & attend the Baisakhi rituals. They will be facilitated with Langar, transport & accommodation under strict Covid protocols.”