Sugar Commission report is charge sheet against Shahid Khaqan and Shehbaz Sharif: Shahzad Akbar
Sugar Commission report is a charge sheet against Shahid Khaqan and Shehbaz Sharif: Shahzad Akbar
LAHORE (Dunya News) - Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Accountability Shahzad Akbar has said that the report of Sugar Commission is a charge sheet against PML-N President and Leader of Opposition Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and former Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.
Talking to media in Lahore, the Special Assistant for Accountability said that former Prime Minister Shahid Khan Abbasi gave a subsidy of Rs. 20 billion on short notice just so mill owners could export them.
Referring to paragraph 209 of the commission report, Shahzad Akbar said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi could not give any answer justifying the subsidy and did not produce any document.
He said that Shahid Khaqan Abbasi was so loyal to Shehbaz Sharif that he gave a subsidy of Rs. 20 billion at the request of his nephew Hamza Shehbaz.
Shahzad Akbar said that Prime Minister Imran Khan, after the approval of the ECC (Economic Co-ordination Committee), allowed the export of sugar, not subsidies. He read out a paragraph of the commission report saying that it was true that the country needed foreign exchange and there was an abundance of sugar which could have been exported.
Shahzad Akbar said that the commission attributed the root cause of the sugar crisis to the nexus of market and sugar mills. The commission summoned the Sindh chief minister twice in writing but he did not appear even though ECC member Asad Umar also appeared and answered all questions.
During the press conference, he also slammed PML-N President and former Punjab Chief Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif and said that the report of the commission contained a detailed account of Shehbaz Sharif’s ill deeds.
Shahzad Akbar said that when PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif was the Chief Minister of Punjab, Al Arabia Sugar Mills underpaid farmers over Rs 1.25 billion under his supervision.
Referring to paragraph 422, page 119 of the Sugar Commission report, he said that the former Punjab Chief Minister had asked the Special Branch to submit a report on transparent payment of support price to farmers, the report revealed that Shehbaz Sharif family’s Al Arabia Sugar Mills took advantage of farmers.
Continuing, the Special Assistant said that the entire family of Shehbaz Sharif is a shareholder of Al Arabia Sugar Mills with both the farmer and the consumer being unhappy unlike the Sugar Mills owners.
Shahzad Akbar said that a reference was being filed against Shehbaz Sharif fearing which he has quarantined himself, but he would not be allowed to escape this time around.
