KARACHI: The Rs300 million recovered by the National Accountability Bureau from food department officials under plea bargain deals has not been deposited in the treasury so far.

This emerged during a meeting, which was presided over by Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, on Tuesday. The meeting was held at the New Sindh Secretariat to review affairs of the provincial food department.

The chief minister directed the food department to ensure proper look after of wheat stocks available in government godowns. Earlier, the food department briefed the meeting about wheat stock position, indicating that there was 1.26 million tonnes of wheat stock available at present. The wheat requirement from November 2016 to March 2017 would be around 800,000 tonnes, it was said.

It was for this reason that the food department had ordered to export 168,000 tonnes wheat, still leaving a surplus of 292,000 tonnes.

The meeting was informed that there had been an amount of Rs1,488 million outstanding since 2006-07 against Balochistan, but the Sindh government had written off the mark up that amounted to Rs600 million. Still the Balochistan government had to pay Rs888 million to the Sindh government, it was added.

Besides, the meeting was told that other Sindh government departments such as the relief and rehabilitation department also owed Rs2.2 billion to the food department on account of the wheat purchase.

Senior Minister for Food Nisar Ahmed Khuhro, Principal Secretary to CM Naveed Kamran Baloch, Finance Secretary Hasan Naqvi, Food Secretary Sajjad Abbasi and other officers concerned attended the meeting.

Meanwhile, Canadian High Commissioner in Pakistan Perry Calder Wood, who has recently resumed his office, called on Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah.

He was accompanied by Honorary Consul General in Karachi Byram D Avari and Canadian Trade Commissioner Athar Khan. During the meeting, they exchanged possibility of mutual cooperation in different fields including coal and renewable energy department.

Published in Dawn, November 9th, 2016