THE import of over 30 million tonnes of wheat when Pakistan had an overflowing carryover stock and an anticipated bumper crop cannot be swept under the rug as just another case of miscalculation on the part of government mandarins. There definitely seems to be some fishy element in the whole process. I say this because one does not need rocket science to understand the implication of such a rash decision on the part of the caretaker government which was at the helm at the time.

The government should take a serious notice of the misuse of official authority by the caretaker government, which had taken a number of decisions that it should not have because of its short tenure. The import of wheat was one such step.

The permission to import wheat was apparently taken for the benefit of the importers, but the consequences of the decision have been devastating for many other stakeholders.

In addition to the fact that wheat has not been purchased from the farmers at the declared support price, valuable foreign exchange has been utilised to purchase wheat that was never actually needed. A full-scale investigation should be carried out, and criminal action be taken against those found responsible.

Akbar Jan Marwat
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, May 28th, 2024