Minister blames Sindh for high flour price

Hammad Azhar says government is taking concrete measures to bring down prices of sugar, wheat

ISLAMABAD:

Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar on Monday said the government was taking concrete measures to bring down the prices of sugar and wheat.

Addressing on a motion in the Senate, he said that the Punjab government timely enhanced the release of wheat to flour mills. However; the Sindh government reduced the release which resulted into hike in flour price in the province.

He said that flour prices in Punjab were Rs860 per 20 kg bag during October but in Sindh the price was Rs1,160.

In July last year, the Pakistan Peoples Party government in Sindh had decided not to release wheat and rejected a federal government proposal in that regard fearing shortage of the key staple in Karachi and other districts of the province.

He also said for the first time, sugarcane farmers were being paid “the real price for their crop” due to support price announced by the PTI government. He added petroleum prices in Pakistan were lower than that of the neighbouring countries.

Azhar said major part of external debt during the PTI government was utilised to repay the interest on the loans obtained by the previous governments. He added that the Broadsheet LLC was the same National Reconciliation Order (NRO) money which was being paid by the nation today.

(With input from APP)