September 04, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 3, 1429

DERA GHAZI KHAN, Sept 3: The Punjab Food department high-ups, despite making hectic efforts for nine days failed to trace more then 0.4 million missing wheat bags, out of the 0.9 million sent to Balochistan.

A couple of weeks back, the Punjab government was informed by Balochistan authorities that they had received only 450,000 wheat bags out of the 900,000 it purchased from the province.

To probe the matter, Punjab Food Director Waseem Mukhtar has been interrogating the concerned staff of Bahawalpur, DG Khan and Rahim Yar Khan for the last nine days at the local circuit house, but to no avail.

Official sources claimed the record of the wheat consignments issued to Balochistan from Bahawalpur and Dera Ghazi Khan food department offices was correct. They said irregularities had actually been committed at the checkpoints at the Punjab’s borders with Balochistan, the NWFP and Sindh in Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur dictricts.

Sources further said that investigation teams could not get complete record of wheat consignments crossing into the three provinces through checkpoints at Baiwata, Triman, Kot Sabzal, Shah Wali, Daud Wali and Sakhi Sarwar.

DCO Capt Asad (retired) told Dawn that record of the wheat supplied to other provinces was not properly maintained at the various checkpoints at provincial limits. In this connection, he specially mentioned the Sakhi Sarwar checkpoint at Quetta-Dera road where he detected gross irregularities in the record.

An officer deputed at one of the checkpoints told Dawn requesting anonymity that millions of rupees was being misappropriated at the checkpoints.

DG khan Food Deputy Director Rao Toheed Khan said he had been posted here recently while all concerned record was with Punjab food director.

It is pertinent to mention that a truck carrying wheat has to cross police, Rangers, food department and Border Military Police checkpoints before entering the NWFP, Balochistan or Sindh from Dera Ghazi Khan.