Beijing: Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar Monday arrived in Beijing, China.

He will co-chair the Fifth Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers' Strategic Dialogue with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations.

The Deputy Prime Minister will also hold meetings with Chinese leaders and senior officials as well as with prominent business enterprises.

Lahore: An application was filed on Monday in the Lahore High Court (LHC) for National Accountability Bureau (NAB) to investigate the wheat scandal.

The petition has been filed by the citizen Mashkoor Hussain through the mediation of Nadeem Sarwar Advocate. The Prime Minister through the Principal Secretary, former Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, NAB, and the Federal Government have been made parties in the petition.

In the petition filed, it has been argued that 0.778 million metric tons of wheat was imported in the first two months of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) government. The government-level committee cannot conduct a transparent investigation as the government itself is part of the wheat scandal, inquiry on merit is not possible.

It was further stated in the application that NAB was requested to investigate the wheat mega scandal but no action was taken.

The petitioner has requested the High Court to order the NAB to investigate the wheat mega scandal, determine the motives of the wheat scandal and collect the money and deposit it in the national treasury.

It is pertinent to note that despite the presence of abundant reserves of wheat in the country, revelations of large-scale import of wheat have come to light during the tenure of the caretaker government.

It was also revealed that the import of wheat continued during the tenure of the current government.

On May 6, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain constituted a high-level inquiry committee to look into the issue of insect-infected wheat imported during 2023-24.

According to media reports, the inquiry committee has so far revealed that the caretaker government has imported wheat worth Rs330 billion during August 2023 to March 2024, of which 13 million tons of wheat is unfit for human consumption due to fungus.

Meanwhile, the former caretaker prime minister had a discussion with PML-N leader Hanif Abbasi on the issue of the wheat crisis. Hanif Abbasi allegedly blamed Anwaar-ul-Haq for the wheat scandal, while the former caretaker prime minister said that if they talk about 'Form 47' then the Muslim League (N) leaders will not be in a position to come before the people.

The PTI also jumped into the issue and demanded a judicial commission for a transparent probe into the wheat scam in the light of the feud between Kakar and Abbasi.

Meanwhile, the PTI spokesperson said that the revelations by Anwaar-ul-Haq and Hanif are eye-opening, and have raised many important questions, which need to be investigated.

Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Monday directed to suspend two Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation (PASSCO) officers for their negligence in purchasing wheat from farmers.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif regarding the wheat procurement program in which Federal Minister for Finance Muhammad Aurangzeb, Federal Minister for Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain, Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Ahad Khan Cheema and Federal Minister for Commerce Jam Kamal Khan participated.

Minister of State for Information Technology Shaza Fatima Khawaja, Prime Minister's Coordinator Rana Ehsan Afzal, and relevant senior government officials also attended the meeting.

The Prime Minister ordered the suspension of the Managing Director and General Manager Procurement of PASSCO for not following the instructions regarding the use of technology in the wheat procurement process and for being negligent.

On this occasion, the Prime Minister expressed his indignation that why a mobile application was not designed for the process of purchasing wheat. He urged to develop a mobile phone app for purchasing wheat and also directed to conduct a third-party audit of PASSCO’s stock.

Shehbaz Sharif directed that technology should be used to make the process of wheat purchase clean and transparent, insurance of the commodity should be ensured for the financial security of farmers. PASSCO should procure 0.4 million metric tonnes of additional wheat in a transparent and efficient manner.

Speaking to the participants of the meeting, the premier said that strong measures will be taken for the development and prosperity of farmers. The government is making all possible efforts to ensure food security in the country, the loss of farmers will not be tolerated under any circumstances.

The prime minister further said that PASSCO centers and officers who are performing well will be selected and they will be recognized at the government level, vigorous measures will be taken for the development and prosperity of farmers.