• Province imported 400,000 tonnes of wheat, minister tells PA
• Says flour price should be Rs125 per kg

KARACHI: While the price of flour has skyrocketed, the provincial food minister has informed the Sindh Assembly that there is no crisis of wheat in the province and the government has procured 1.4 million metric tons of wheat to avoid shortage.

The price of flour has increased to Rs160 per kilogram in Karachi. Millers have been complaining of non-availability of wheat for the past many days due to which many of them have shut their operations.

However, furnishing a policy statement on the floor of the house, Food Minister Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that the provincial government had imported about 400,000 metric tons of wheat.

Mr Chawla, who also holds the portfolios of parliamentary affairs and excise and taxation department, insisted that there was no wheat crisis in the province.

He claimed that the price of flour should be Rs125 per kg.

Expressing his views on the issue of wheat, the minister had an exchange of harsh words with parliamentary party leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Khurram Sher Zaman.

The food minister denied that there was any wheat crisis in Sindh.

Later, while responding to written and verbal questions from lawmakers during Question Hour, Mukesh Kumar Chawla said that whatever the revenue was collected by the excise and taxation department went to the provincial government’s account.

He informed the house that the department had collected over Rs3 billion in 2017 which included the recovery of Rs1.78bn from Karachi. He said that Rs5bn was collected in 2022.

4.3m vehicles registered with Sindh excise dept

In reply to another query, he said that over 4.3 million vehicles were registered in the province.

Responding to a supplementary question, he said that four per cent tax was levied on vehicles above 1,600cc.

He said that the issue of non-custom paid vehicles pertained to Pakistan Customs and the provincial government did not have to do anything with it.

In response to another question, he said the provincial assembly had passed a new law regarding drugs, including ‘ice’. He said that many cases of ice had been processed.

“We seized a large quantity of ice-making materials in Karachi some eight months ago,” he said, adding that the value of the seized material was over Rs5bn in the international market.

While asking a supplementary question, PTI lawmaker Shahnawaz Jadoon said the menace of drugs had badly hit his constituency in Keamari.

He said that children of tender ages had also started using ice and other drugs in the vicinity where such substances were sold openly.

The PTI member said that when people asked the area police to take action against drug peddlers, they were told that it was the job of Anti-Narcotics Force.

The excise minister said that the police officials were wrong if they were telling people to go to the ANF for action against drug peddling.

“I am issuing instructions to my department right now in the regard,” he assured the PTI member.

He said that the police should take action against drug dealers.

Mr Chawla said that there were excise department rules for giving a licence for a liquor shop.

“No liquor shop can be opened near school,” he said, adding that no one was allowed to drink in public, even if he was a non-Muslim.

The provincial minister said that there had been complaints of drug use in educational institutions. He requested Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah to give a briefing in the house on the issue.

Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho told the house that the health department was opening a drug rehabilitation centre where the staff would also be trained.

She underlined the need and importance of launching an awareness campaign in schools and colleges. “Children should be told how bad drug addiction is for their health,” she said.

Minister Chawala said that a task force would be constituted to visit schools and colleges, adding that the terms of reference of the task force would also be framed.

Replying to a supplementary question, the excise minister said that the department did not have modern machines to detect drugs.

He said that he would put up a proposal for sniffer dogs to control the drug menace.

The sitting was adjourned to meet again on Monday.

Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2023