PAC asks government to ensure early wheat procurement

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has directed the government to ensure the early procurement of wheat to benefit the growers saying that delay in procurement will create problems for growers. The Special Committee III of PAC met here on Wednesday at Parliament House with Riaz Hussain Pirzada in the chair. The PAC's Special Committee reviewed the audit paras of the Ministry of Commerce for year 1994-95.
The committee urged the government to give incentives to farmers to motivate them to grow more, which is vital for food security in the country. Secretary Commerce Zafar Mehmood in his briefing to Committee said that India has offered economically viable electricity supply to Pakistan to meet the current energy crisis.
India has offered power supply to Pakistan when the country suffers from big power crisis, the issue of electricity and energy will be discussed in talks with India next month, Zafar Mehmood said. "Agenda of the talks has not been finalised yet, it will be open but every important issue will be discussed in the parleys," the Secretary said, adding that Pakistan wants to resume the dialogue from the point where it came to a standstill in the past.
He denied giving India the status of the most favourite nation (MFN) saying, "Pakistan can not give India the MFN status as there are many reservations". The PAC Special Committee Chairman Riaz Pirzada directed the Ministry of Commerce to ensure that prior to exports the strategic reserves of wheat and requirement of the nation would be taken into consideration to avoid any shortage.
The Secretary informed the committee that this year country will have a bumper crop of wheat and government has decided to export the surplus wheat. He said that government will only allow the export of surplus wheat after ensuring the strategic stock and requirements of the nation.
Addressing the participants of the meeting Pirzada expressed serious concern over stranded government money due to pending cases in courts, saying that if the looted money was retrieved all the foreign loans of the country could be returned. It is need of the hour that the looted money should be retrieved so that the burden of foreign debt will be removed, which is damaging the entire socio economic fabric of the country, Pirzada said. He directed the Ministry of Law to provide legal help to other ministries and departments to dispose of the pending cases.