Sugar inquiry report challenged in Islamabad High Court

PTI stalwart Jehangir Tareen one of the petitioners among others

ISLAMABAD: The sugar inquiry commission report regarding the hike in the price of the commodity was challenged in the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday.

The owners of 17 sugar mills including the ruling party’s stalwart Jehangir Tareen and the Sugar Mills Association filed a petition in the IHC.

The petition requested the court to declare the commission’s report null and void and restrain the government from carrying out its proceedings.

The petitioners have adopted the stance in the application that the inquiry commission exceeded its constitutional authority in the preparation of the report and that the commission’s act was biased, discriminatory, and illegal.



It further stated that the conclusions inferred in the report and the recommendations forwarded did not fall within the ambit of the law.

“The inquiry commission did not have the authority to conduct the forensic audit of the sugar mills and only a few of them were selected for the purpose,” the petition said.

“The role of Mirza Shahzad Akbar [Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability] during the inquiry was extremely negative,” it added.

The petitioners maintained that the inquiry was based on prejudice and the report was meant to defame them.

The application stated that the commission did not fulfil the legal requirements during the inquiry and appealed to the court to restrain the government and all institutions concerned from carrying out the proceedings in the light of the commission’s report.

The federation has been made respondent in the petition through the Cabinet Division, interior secretary, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Accountability, Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General (DG), Anti-Corruption Punjab DG, Intelligence Bureau deputy director, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Investigation and Intelligence DG.

Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah will hear the petition on Thursday (today).

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan ordered an inquiry into the sugar scam and reaffirmed that anyone involved in it would not be spared.



He issued these directives while chairing a meeting of the federal cabinet on Tuesday.

The premier issued directives for bringing down the prices of sugar.

On Sunday, PM Imran had approved a massive investigation through accountability organisations against the “sugar cartel” allegedly involved in a multi-billion rupee scam for the past 25 years.

The NAB, FIA, SECP, SBP, FBR and CCP will investigate allegations like creating artificial shortage, profiteering, tax evasion and receiving undue export subsidies against sugar barons.

The cabinet was informed that action against 88 sugar mill owners was expected in the light of recommendations made in the recent Sugar Forensic Commission (SFC) report that exposed several bigwigs in the scam, including Jehangir Tareen, a brother of federal minister Khusro Bakhtiar, and sons of Shehbaz Sharif, Leader of Opposition in the National Assembly.

Subsidies given by the federal or provincial governments, including the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government in Punjab, will be investigated.

The meeting was apprised that political families entered the sugar business during the 1990s and since then they had crushed everyone else in the industry.

Under the PM’s directives, a committee will be formed to determine the cost of production and the price of sugar.

The committee will be headed by Industries Minister Hammad Azhar.