SARGODHA: Prime Minister Imran Khan said that sugar mill owners benefitted from the surge in sugar prices in the country at the expense of the masses by increasing the rates.
The comments came while talking to the media in Sardogha. The premier also commented on the issue of Jahangir Tareen’s hearings saying, “I am ready to listen to everyone’s reservations, but there is one thing they should understand; sugar prices increased by Rs26 in a year or so.”
An increase of Rs26 per kg in sugar prices translates into Rs120-130 billion, and this huge sum of money went from the citizens’ pockets to the sugar mills, PM Imran Khan said.
“It is obvious: the government has to work in the best interests of the people and we’ve asked the FIA (Federal Investigation Agency) to probe the matter. During the investigation, several horrific things were revealed to us.”
The premier said he was ready to speak to those who had reservations against the proceedings, but stressed that the government would uphold the law — the same law that is applicable to everyone.
PM Imran Khan said the “elite and the powerful are the actual menaces behind the country’s downfall. If you combine the amount of corruption done by all poor people in jails, it will amount to a maximum of Rs2-3 billion.”
Earlier, at least twenty-five PTI legislators had penned a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan requesting a meeting with him to discuss the cases against Jahangir Tareen, the estranged member of the ruling party.
The lawmakers said that they wanted to inform the premier regarding the truth about the events and happenings within the party. These comments and the letter came a day after Tareen met with nearly 20 PTI MNAs and MPAs at the dinner he hosted for them.
The PTI MNAs who were signatories to the letter were: Raja Riaz, Khawaja Shiraz, Syed Samiul Haq Gilani, Riaz Mazari, Mubeen Alam Anwar, and Javed Warraich. While the MPAs who signed the letter were: Malik Nauman Langarial, Ajmal Cheema, Abdul Hayee Dasti, Faisal Hayat Jabboana, Ameer Muhammad Khan, Rafaqat Gailani, Khurram Laghari, Aslam Bharwana, Nazir Chauhan, Asif Majeed, Bilal Warraich, Umar Aftab Dhilon, Tahir Randhawa, Zawar Warraich, Nazir Baloch, Amin Chaudhry, Chaudhry Iftikhar Gondal, Ghulam Rasool Sangah, and Salman Naeem.
Previously, rumours suggested that the estranged PTI leader might join PPP, but the speculations were denied by Tareen.
On the rumours of Tareen changing parties, Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed had commented that PTI and Tareen were two different entities.
Tareen’s drift with the party is the result of investigations against him and his son regarding money laundering and fraud linked to the ongoing sugar crisis. Tareen has expressed that the charges against him are being used to target him, while he denies all allegations.
