THE special inquiry commission on sugar, which was constituted earlier this month to conduct a detailed forensic audit of nine companies, is being given another three weeks to do its job.

The commission, which was formed to look into manipulation of the domestic sugar market by producers, was supposed to submit its forensic report on April 25.

But it has sought more time because it is finding it difficult to hire people with the required expertise to carry out a forensic audit of the sugar business, as well as owing to the closure of factories in compliance with lockdown rules.

This was expected ever since the formation of the commission which many observers argued had been given very little time to undertake a very technical exercise.

Most were doubtful of the commission’s capacity to perform a forensic audit as the earlier inquiry report prepared by the FIA team had betrayed the investigators’ unfamiliarity with the way the sugar or any other business is conducted and how the markets function in countries like Pakistan.

Although the inquiry committee was able to put together a good industry report after weeks of hard work, its findings remained inconclusive owing to its lack of technical expertise.

For example, the investigators equated future contracts with satta, a form of speculative investment usually considered akin to gambling.

Thus, it is advisable for the commission to use the services of experts who are trained for carrying out such studies even if it requires another extension to the life of the commission.

It is important for the government and investigators to produce a scientifically credible report as the mill owners have already raised serious objections, some valid, to the earlier one on the basis of which the forensic audit has been ordered.

Moreover, the PTI’s Jahangir Khan Tareen, whose six mills are part of the nine firms selected for the forensic analysis, has also expressed his fears that someone in the bureaucracy might be targeting him and his business interests for political reasons.

Indeed, the sugar mill owners, most of whom either belong to a major political party or are closely related to influential politicians, exercise much clout over the policymaking process.

But a great deal of their political influence is firmly rooted in the sugar policy pursued by successive governments to please big farmers.

The commission must also examine the role of sugar policy in helping millers and distributors manipulate the market to rig profits.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2020