ISLAMABAD, Jan 22: The caretaker cabinet approved a proposal on Tuesday to revive the old ration card system to provide essential food items to the people at reasonable rates. It also decided to take “legal action” against hoarders and black marketeers, who had created the flour crisis.

The cabinet meeting was presided over by caretaker prime minister Mohammedmian Soomro.

Briefing reporters about the decisions of the meeting, caretaker Minister for Information Nisar Memon said that legal action would be taken against elements responsible for creating what he termed an artificial crisis of wheat and flour. “This action will be taken irrespective of the position or the influence of anybody,” he said.

He said provincial governments had been directed to finalise cases against the hoarders and black marketeers. Legal action will also be taken against flour mill owners who did not grind the allotted quota of wheat.

However, the minister did not say if the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) or any other agency would be filing cases against the culprits.

When it was pointed out that allegations had been levelled by the PML-N and the PPP against some ministers of the previous cabinet, including former prime minister Shaukat Aziz, that they minted Rs38 billion by creating the wheat and flour crisis, he said: “The caretaker prime minister has said those who were involved in it had committed a serious crime and they should not go unpunished.”

He said the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and the Federal Food Committee (FFC) would coordinate efforts to help take legal action against the hoarders and black marketers.

Nevertheless, Mr Memon said that the crisis had eased and people could now get wheat and flour without much hassle. He said that the supply of wheat and flour had been improved and the situation was fast stabilising. “Now there exists wheat stocks for 52 days of consumption and the government is also urgently importing more wheat to make sure that there is no crisis of commodity in future,” Mr Memon said.

Responding to a question, he said that Minfal and the Ministry of Production and Industries had been asked to make arrangements to supply essential food items, particularly flour, sugar, rice, pulses and cooking oil at reduced rates at utility stores.

He said that flour mills were being provided uninterrupted electricity supply of 19 hours to ensure sufficient stocks of flour . The minister denied that flour mills were facing serious loadshedding due to which they were unable to grind sufficient quantity of wheat.

There are no unmet demands now from the provinces as 2.7 million tons of wheat has already been released. He said the caretaker prime minister had directed the Minfal and the Federal Food Committee to keep a vigil through the provincial governments and ensure that hoarders and unscrupulous elements did not exploit the situation.

Mr Memon said that the cabinet was also given a briefing on the elections arrangements which ,he said, would be held positively on Feb 18.

He told a reporter that the cabinet did not consider any proposal about delaying the elections.

The minister said the cabinet also discussed the law and order situation, which the participants of the meeting believed was satisfactory as no serious incident had occurred on the 10th of Muharram. “It was decided that the same spirit of having improved law and order situation would be maintained during and after the elections,” he said, adding that with the help of law enforcement agencies and the army, security situation would be improved.

He said that the secretary of the Election Commission had told the meeting that records of 15 constituencies of the National Assembly and 30 of the provincial assemblies, which had been destroyed during Dec 27-30 riots and violence, had been reactivated.

He quoted the secretary as saying that arrangements had been made to hold election on 272 seats of National Assembly and 728 of provincial assemblies in a free, fair, transparent and peaceful manner.

Mr Memon said that the meeting was informed that of 484 candidates of the National Assembly and 7,335 of the provincial assemblies would be contesting the elections, for which 135 district returning officers had been appointed, besides a good number of assistant returning officers.

Two million handbooks about the elections, he said, had been distributed to the political parties. “And 498 observers mostly from the United States and the European Union will be coming to Pakistan to monitor the elections”.

Asked about allegations of rigging, he said that the secretary of the Election Commission had told the meeting that over 95 per cent such complaints had been disposed of by the District and Sessions Judges.

About the assassination of late PPP leader Benazir Bhutto, Mr Memon said several people involved in it had been apprehended and their remand taken. Further investigation, he added, was being conducted by the authorities concerned .

Answering a question, he said the meeting did not discuss any proposal about setting up a national government and that the caretaker administration would supervise the forthcoming polls.

Mr Memon did not offer any comment when it was pointed out that the National Reconciliation Ordinance would lapse on Feb 5. When asked if a New NRO would be issued by the caretaker government which itself was there for a brief period of time, he said : “Whatever will be done it will be in accordance with the Constitution”.