ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Thursday called for the formation of a high-powered judicial commission to investigate what it described as one of the country’s largest economic scandals – a sugar export scheme that allegedly cost the national treasury Rs287 billion.
The scheme reportedly resulted in approximately Rs300 billion in unlawful profits to politically connected elites.
The demand followed revelations presented to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), which PTI said exposed a well-orchestrated scheme of plunder carried out by members of the ruling coalition and shielded by state institutions.
In a statement, PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram called for a transparent and comprehensive enquiry into the scandal. He named Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, his deputy Ishaq Dar, members of the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC), and the Federal Cabinet as those who should be investigated for their alleged roles in approving and executing the controversial sugar export policy.
PTI characterised the crisis not as mismanagement, but as “a premeditated economic crime.” It alleged that sugar was exported despite domestic shortages, then re-imported at higher prices. This, the party claimed, artificially inflated costs for consumers and profited a select few.
According to PTI, the policy was led by Dar during his tenure as chair of both the Sugar Advisory Board and the ECC. Akram said these approvals, which later received Cabinet assent, created a “chain of command” linking senior government officials to the financial losses.
The PAC’s report, cited by PTI, estimates the national loss at Rs287 billion and points to nearly Rs300 billion in illicit gains allegedly pocketed by politically connected families and business interests. Among those named are the Sharif family, President Asif Zardari and his associates, Suleman Shehbaz, and businessman Jahangir Tareen.
PTI also accused the ruling elite of misleading the public by downplaying shortages, inflating prices, and manipulating trade to generate windfall profits. The party claimed that state institutions – including the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), and the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) – had remained silent spectators.
The statement contrasted the current situation with former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s tenure, when a Sugar Enquiry Commission was formed in 2020 to investigate similar profiteering. “Back then, the report named culprits across party lines,” the spokesperson noted. “Today, those same networks are in power.”
The party also questioned the fairness of the accountability system, claiming that legal scrutiny disproportionately targets Imran Khan while “real plunderers of public wealth” operate with impunity.
PTI has called for sugar prices to be rolled back to 2022 levels as an emergency relief measure. It also urged the PAC to demand updates from the FIA on all pending sugar-related cases and called for criminal proceedings against those involved in alleged fake exports and hoarding.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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