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.

Karachi: The bullish trend in the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) continues even today (Monday).

A positive trend is being seen in the Pakistan Stock Exchange today, with the benchmark SE-100 index increasing by 450 points to reach the 73,000 mark during early trading.

It is pertinent to mention that on the last day of the business week, the KSE-100 index closed at 73,085 points after an increase of 427 points or 0.59 percent, which closed at 72,658 yesterday.

Notably, on April 29, the 100-index of the PSX reached an all-time high of 73,000 points, after which the index fell to 70,657 on May 2 after a gradual decline over the next few days.

Earlier on April 26, the Pakistan Stock Exchange witnessed a strong rally and the benchmark KSE-100 index closed at a record high of 72,742 points after gaining 771 points.

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.