February 13, 2006	Monday	Muharram 14, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Feb 12: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has accused the owners of 12 sugar mills, majority of whom belonged to the ruling party, of robbing the masses of Rs60 billion during the ongoing sugar crisis.

A “fact-sheet” released by the PML-N central information secretary Siddiqul Farooque here on Sunday also accused the government’s economic advisers of abetting these mill owners in creating the sugar crisis by hiding facts and figures.

He said there were a total of 12 sugar mills owned by persons who were part of the present government. “In Punjab, federal minister for industries Jehangir Tareen owned Jamaluddin Wali Sugar Mills and United Sugar Mills with their production capacity equal to four mills,” he observed.

He said Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi were the owners of Phalia Sugar Mills and Punjab Sugar Mills, while Salim Altaf owned Shakar Ganj Sugar Mills with the production capacity equal to three sugar mills. Commerce Minister Humayun Akhtar was the owner of Tandlianawala Sugar Mills, while Nasrullah Dreshak owned Indus Sugar Mills.

Similarly, he said, a provincial minister in Punjab, Amir Cheema, was the owner of National Sugar Mills.

“These are a total of 12 sugar mills owned by those ruling the country and they are responsible for creating this crisis. They feel that as the government belongs to them, they can exploit the masses as they like and with impunity,” said Mr Farooque.

He said the PML-N had demanded the formation of a joint committee of the National Assembly and the Senate to probe the crisis.

He asked the government to ensure that sugar available at Utility Stores was not sold in the black market rather supplied to the people at Rs23 per kg.

He demanded that the Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) should immediately release the 100,000 tons of sugar it stored in the market. He also demanded immediate end to the 15 per cent General Sales Tax (GST) on local and imported sugar.

He said the present crisis was not developed in a single day but it was a story of four years when growers were not paid by millers for their sugarcane, forcing them to reduce the sowing of the crop.

In August 2004, he said, the government’s adviser Dr Ishfaq Ahmed ignored the warning of mill owners that the country faced sugar shortage of 500,000 tons. However, a month later, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet ordered the import of 200,000 tons raw sugar on the first-come-first serve basis. The contract for the import was awarded on personal connections, he alleged.

“Resultantly, these persons issued SROs from the commerce ministry and imported refined sugar as well, besides purchasing sugar from the domestic market for hoarding. These contractors also evaded billions of rupees tax under the invoicing.”