ISLAMABAD, Aug 9: The National Accountability Bureau in a report it submitted to the Supreme Court on Thursday held eight sitting ministers or their party colleagues responsible for sugar hoarding which, coupled with the government’s soft policy initiative, created a sugar crisis and price hike over the past three years.

Middlemen, sugar industry’s corrupt practices, tax evasion and the food minister’s action of inducing farmers to demand higher sugarcane prices were also mentioned as reasons for the continuing sugar crisis. The report says these players and factors take advantage of lower sugarcane production in the country which, coupled with higher international prices, played havoc with the common man’s budget by increasing the commodity’s price from Rs21 per kilogramme in February 2005 to Rs45 by the end of January 2006.

Submitted by NAB’s prosecutor general Dr Danish, the report on sugar situation said even the government’s policy of allowing duty-free sugar imports benefited the aforementioned players.

A bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry and Justice M. Javed Buttar had ordered the NAB to submit its report about its incomplete inquiry into the sugar scam.

PPP Senator Enver Baig, who had requested the court to summon the report, alleged that the NAB within two days of its probe was ordered by the prime minister to abandon the exercise. He claimed that those involved in the scam pocketed Rs36 billion.

The NAB report said: “The sugar industry in Pakistan is predominantly owned by politicians. Some of them despite being in the government have acted contrary to the business laws/ethics and held sugar stocks that tantamount to hoarding.”

The report specifically mentioned the names of Jehangir Tareen, Humayun Akhtar, a brother and a cousin of Humayun Akhtar, Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and Anwer Cheema of the ruling PML, Mian Azhar, Erra chief Mian Altaf Saleem and Nasrullah Dareshak and said their 12 mills were responsible for almost 70 per cent of the 317,000 tons hoarded sugar.

Nawaz Sharif, his brother Shahbaz Sharif, Asif Ali Zardari and Sikandar Khan have also been accused of hoarding about 100,000 tons of sugar.

As the NAB reached this conclusion, it was forced to wind up the investigation. The NAB said it had to issue a press release about winding up the probe when these players created an impression that the investigation was further escalating the sugar price. The NAB is currently headed by Naveed Ahsan, who earlier served as finance secretary and the secretary-general, finance, with Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

Mainly based on inputs provided by Asif Zaman Ansari, chairman of the Trading Corporation of Pakistan, and economic adviser of finance ministry Dr Ashfaq Hassan, the NAB report said: “The crisis surged during the current year due to gradual decline in sugarcane growth because of declining interest of farmers.”

Farmers had been demanding prices of Rs70 to 75 per 40kg of sugarcane against Rs55-60 prescribed by provincial governments.

Reportedly, the federal minister for food, agriculture and livestock also induced farmers to demand higher prices.