ISLAMABAD, Feb 7: The opposition in the Senate criticized the government on Tuesday over the prevailing sugar crisis. Later, it staged a token walkout while refusing to hear the food and agriculture minister. Opposition members were demanded a reply from Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on the issue of sugar.

The house witnessed an uproar when Chairman Mohammedmian Soomro gave the floor to Food and Agriculture Minister Sikandar Hayat Bosan to speak on points raised by opposition senators on sugar price increase. They attributed the crisis to artificial shortage created by big industrialists and hoarders.

“No, we will not hear the minister,” opposition leader Raza Rabbani and his other colleagues shouted when the minister was about to take the floor. “If the minister wants to announce his resignation over the crisis, we are ready to listen to him,” Mr Rabbani said.

“Why is the prime minister not ready to come to parliament to make a statement?” he asked and urged Leader of the House Wasim Sajjad to give a commitment that the prime minister would come and speak on Friday, when the house will meet at 10am.

The opposition members staged a walkout when the chairman gave the floor to Mr Bosan.

Addressing an opposition-less house, the minister blamed the sugar crisis on supply and demand factors, a worldwide price spiral and an often uneasy relationship between mills and sugarcane growers who he said had reduced cultivation after record production in 2003-04.

He said there was no shortage of sugar as the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had sufficient stocks and the quota of Utility Stores Corporations had been increased where sugar was available for Rs27 per kg.

The protesters returned to the house after Mr Sajjad and PML secretary-general Mushahid Hussain held out assurance that they would convey their sentiments to the prime minister.