Jahangir Tareen removed as chairman agriculture task force

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior leader Jahangir Khan Tareen has been removed as the chairman of Agriculture Task Force after the emergence of a probe report against responsible persons behind flour and sugar crisis in the country, ARY News reported on Monday.

The government has commenced taking action against those found involved in flour and sugar crisis in Pakistan as a senior politician of PTI Jahangir Khan Tareen from the top position of an agriculture task force.

Sources said that the government will take further action against the responsible persons after the emergence of detailed investigation reports.

Read: PM Imran Khan’s cabinet undergoes major shake-up

Prior to the latest development, Punjab Food Minister Samiullah Chaudhry resigned from his post amid flour and sugar scandal. He tendered his resignation to Chief Minister Usman Buzdar during a meeting in Lahore.

The resignation comes after a report by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) claimed that the Punjab food department failed to come up with a process for the demand and supply of the product.

While talking to ARY News, Shahbaz Gill confirmed that Tareen was removed from a semi-formal agriculture task force. Prime Minister Imran Khan has taken action on the basis of a probe report, he added.

FIA raids sugar mills

Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) teams have conducted raids on different sugar mills after expanding its investigation to confirm whether sugar stocks in the country were exported or imported.

Read: Probe reports on wheat, sugar crisis released without alteration: PM Imran

Sources told ARY News that the intel agency’s teams raided different sugar mills and seized records which were forwarded for its forensic investigation.

Jahangir Tareen has declared the report as ‘political and personal attacks’ against him, alleging that PM’s personal secretary Azam Khan was behind it for releasing an uncomplete probe report.

He criticised that employees had been summoned from their houses during coronavirus lockdown for investigation. Tareen also alleged that Azam Khan was making decisions of his own choice. The politician announced that he will challenge the decision if the commission declared him responsible.

On Saturday, the federal government had made public reports of a high-level inquiry into the sugar and wheat crises that had hit the people hard across the country in January.

Under the stewardship of Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) director general Wajid Zia, two teams carried out a probe into the crises and furnished their reports to the prime minister upon completion for perusal. Prime Minister Khan went through the report before these were made public.