Continuous absence of minister, secy: Senate body decides to refer matter to chairman for action

ISLAMABAD: The Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production, Thursday, while adjourning the panel meeting in protest against the continuous absence of the federal minister for industries and production and the secretary from the committee meetings, unanimously, decided to refer the matter to the chairman of the Senate for further action.

The Senate Standing Committee on Industries and Production which met here under the chairmanship of Senator Aon Abbas expressed serious anger over the absence of the minister and secretary from the meeting, and said that the panel wanted to discuss important issues related to sudden increase in sugar prices, fate of Utility Stores Corporation (USC) and distribution of Ramazan package.

Sugar prices in the wholesale market over the past two months have witnessed an increase of Rs 1,100 per 50kg bag which has jumped up from Rs 6,200 to Rs 7,300, while in retail it has been increased by Rs 20 per kg from Rs 135 to Rs 155 per kg.

The meeting was attended by senators, Danesh Kumar, Husna Bano, Mir Dostain Khan Domki, Syed Masroor Ahsan, and Saifullah Sarwar Khan Nyazee, along with the additional secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Production.

Senator Aon Abbas, along with other committee members, expressed concerns regarding the absence of the minister and the secretary of the Ministry of Industries and Production. In the previous meeting, Senator Aon raised serious concerns about the rising price of sugar and the corruption involved in the process.

He posed significant questions regarding the shareholders involved, and despite this being a major issue, no senior official from the ministry was present to address these concerns. The committee also needed to discuss the Ramazan packages, which were allocated to BISP instead of the Utility Stores.

Senator Aon also sought an update on the status of the 10,000 employees of the Utility Stores, a matter that was supposed to be addressed in the session.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025