KARACHI:
Pakistan has become a scandal-ridden country. Every now and then we come across one scandal or the other — like the Panama leaks, the Dawn leaks, the audio leaks, etc. These days, it is the wheat scandal that is making headlines in the country. Even when these scandals were probed, either by the government or by the courts, nothing good for the country came out of them. A scandal means a wrongdoing, a crime. It should be probed in all sincerity and honesty. Now we have to probe who allowed the private sector to import wheat — something that caused oversupply of the commodity in the country and thus hardships to the farmers.
Media reports suggest that the caretakers allowed the import of wheat based on the estimates provided by the concerned ministry that showed a shortfall in supply and demand. I believe that the caretaker government tried to ensure food security by allowing the import of wheat. And the imported supply of wheat helped stabilised the flour price in the market. I don’t think there is any wrongdoing involved. I think highlighting such scandals only harm the county’s already struggling economy.
Ejaz Ahmad Magoon
Doha
Published in The Express Tribune, May 7th, 2024.
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