PTI reacts to Anwaarul Haq Kakar’s ‘Form 47’ remarks

LAHORE: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Saturday termed the remarks of former caretaker prime minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar regarding ‘Form 47’ a ‘confession’ of alleged rigging in general elections 2024, ARY News reported.

Anwaarul Haq Kakar and PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi had a heated exchange over the wheat import scandal, during which the former premier warned that if he were to “spill the beans about Form-47, the party would have nowhere to hide”.

Abbasi was confronted for pinning the blame for the wheat scandal on Kakar’s tenure as caretaker premier during an interview with a news channel. “Abbasi said that he was merely speaking the truth in the TV programme,” the sources said.

akar upped the ante by hinting at dropping a bombshell regarding Form-47, insinuating that it “would leave the PML-N red-faced”.

The statement hints at possible tampering in Form-47, a veiled reference to allegations also made by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), whose candidates allege rigging in the Feb 8 general elections.

Reacting to the statement, PTI leader Raja Basharat said that the former prime minister’s statement on Form 47 is an “admission of guilt”.

“Kakar, who was appointed to conduct transparent elections, is himself threatening the PML-N”, he said, lambasting the authorities’ failure over wheat import.

He questioned how wheat from Ukraine arrived in Pakistan in 15 days instead of 45 days, alleging embezzlement of $1.5 billion in the commodity’s deal.

He further said that Pakistan’s agriculture sector and that the wheat crisis had become a nightmare for farmers in Punjab. He criticised the government for failing to take a decision on wheat procurement, saying that this was the first government that had failed to do so.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif formed a fact-finding committee to ascertain the irregularities in the wheat import last year despite a “bumper crop”, excessing the stock leaving Balochistan and Punjab governments unable to purchase the crop from the farmers.

The prime minister asked the relevant officials about the import of wheat last year and why the decision was taken to import the commodity despite foreseeing a bumper crop.

Due to the non-purchase of wheat by the provincial governments, wheat is being sold at a lower price than the official rate. The stock surplus is attributed to Kakar-led caretaker government allowing import of 2,758,226 226 metric tonnes of wheat till Feb 2024.

Furthermore, the federal government has also removed Federal Secretary National Food Security and Research Division Captain (retd) Muhammad Asif from his post.