Senate passes resolution against flour crisis

Opposition stages walkout after govt fails to submit FIA report to upper house

ISLAMABAD: Opposition in the upper house of parliament on Monday staged a walkout after the federal government failed to submit a key investigation agency’s report on the recent hike of food commodities, especially wheat flour and sugar.

The Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani on Friday asked the government to place the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) report on sugar and flour crisis before the house on Monday after Leader of Opposition Raja Zafarul Haq said the report had been submitted to the government.

However, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Azam Swati told the house that he had written to the prime minister regarding the FIA report and was told that there were some points in the report that needed clarification.



Swati said he would present the report at the next meeting.  “We accept that mafias are at work and that these mafias minted billions of rupees by creating scarcity of wheat and sugar. However, we are not going to spare this mafia,” he said.

The opposition members, however, raised objection to the move and staged a walkout. The Senate chairman later ordered the minister to present the report in the next sitting.

The Senate later passed a resolution expressing concern over the wheat flour crisis and urging the government to take every possible measure to safeguard the people from the inflationary trend.

The house also demanded that the government present the FIA inquiry report crisis in the Senate.



When the PTI came into power in August 2018, the price of the wheat flour was Rs50 per kilogramme (kg). However, a flour crisis started in November 2019 and worsened around mid-January 2020, raising price of the staple food to Rs70 per kg.

On the heels of the flour crisis, the rates of sugar also began creeping up. By January 22, the sweetener became dearer by Rs9 per kg at retail level in Punjab, the country’s biggest province. At retail level, sugar was sold at Rs85 per kg, up from the previously pegged rate of Rs76.

Taking notice of the crisis, Prime Minister Imran Khan on January 23 ordered the FIA to launch an inquiry into causes of this price hike and fix responsibility for the shortage. The FIA on Feb 11 submitted its report to the PM.



Palestine resolution

The Senate also unanimously adopted a resolution calling for accelerating efforts for highlighting the Palestinian issue. The resolution moved by Mushtaq Ahmed, called  upon the government to take steps for summoning an emergency summit meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

It said this OIC meeting must chalk out a consensus-based strategy, with due regard to the rights and legitimate interests of the Palestinian people as recognized by the international law, for amicable settlement of the Palestinian issue.

The house also called upon the government for taking steps to summon a special session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to consider the constitution of an international Arbitration Commission, to hear the Palestinians and other stakeholders.

The UNGA session should explore options for a peaceful resolution of the Palestinian issue, including the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state, the safe return of Palestinian refugees to their homes and land currently under illegitimate occupation of Israel, and immediate release of all Palestinians currently languishing in the Israeli jails.

The house also called for constituting a special committee of the parliamentarians, international law experts and representatives of human rights organizations to visit various countries as a global awareness campaign to sensitize the world about a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue in the larger interest of world peace and security. (WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM APP)