ISLAMABAD: Following serious criticism from the opposition parties, the newly-appointed Minister for Industries and Production Khusro Bakhtiar has requested Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan to transfer the Sugar Advisory Board (SAB) to any other ministry to avoid possible conflict of interest that may arise.
In a letter written to the PM, a copy of which is available with Daily Business Recorder, Bakhtiar has urged the PM to transfer the SAB to some other ministry in a bid to allow the body to function without "public objections".
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government has given him the third important ministry since the formation of the government in 2018, in first place, Bakhtiar was appointed as the Minister for Water Resources.
In second reshuffle of the cabinet, he was made the federal minister Planning and Development, after that he was made federal minister for National Food Security but after the emergence of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) report on sugar crisis in 2020, the PM removed him from the ministry and appointed him as minister for Economic Affairs.
The PTI government recently has given him the charge of Ministry of Industries and Production but being a leading sugar industrialist the opposition political parties have come down hard against him.
In his letter, Bakhtiar started out by thanking the premier for making him the minister of industries and production, terming it a "great honour".
The minister added that he was conscious of the "serious responsibility" his position placed on him.
"Given the importance of sugar as a commodity in Pakistan and in light of the recent public concerns in respect of the same, it is imperative that the functions of SAB are not perceived as serving any interests besides those of the people of Pakistan," he wrote.
"Keeping in view any possible perceived conflict of interest that may arise and in order to ensure that SAB is allowed to operate without public objections, I hereby request that the SAB be transferred to another ministry of the federal government."
Bakhtiar said the matter of the SAB was "imperative to the integrity" of his portfolio and the independent functioning of the body.
A notification issued by the Prime Minister's Office dated April 19 stated that the premier had received Bakhtiar's letter.
"The prime minister has seen and while agreeing to the request of the minister for industries and production, in principle, has been pleased to desire that Industries and Production Division shall, in consultation with the stakeholders concerned, move a summary for transfer of the Sugar Advisory Board to the appropriate ministry/division, at the earliest," it read.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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