Ex-minister moves PHC to seek probe into wheat scam

PESHAWAR: Former federal minister Nawabzada Khwaja Muhammad Khan Hoti on Friday filed a constitutional petition in Peshawar High Court seeking an order for a probe into the wheat scam in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The petition, filed through Saleem Shah Hoti advocate, has expressed no trust in the three-member Anti-Corruption Committee and dubbed it as an attempt to protect the responsible persons.

The petitioner has arraigned as respondents Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru, government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa through chief secretary and secretary food, Brig (retd) Musadiq Abbasi, advisor to Chief Minister on Anti-Corruption, senior lawyer and member of the Anti-Corruption Committee Qazi Muhammad Anwar, former governor and member of the committee Shah Farman, MPA Shakeel Ahmad, PTI MNAs Muhammad Atif Khan and Junaid Akbar, director food, director general Anti-Corruption Establishment KP, Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and director general NAB, KP.

The petitioner said that the total population of KP has been estimated as 40.8 million and the total wheat requirement is 124kg per head per annum, which comes to 5.059 million metric tons.

According to the Agriculture Department, the expected local production of wheat was estimated as 1.500 million metric tonnes (30 %). Hence the shortfall was estimated as 3.559 million metric tonnes. In order to overcome the shortfall, the KP government decided to purchase 3.5 million metric tonnes of wheat from open markets of Punjab and KP after the approval of chief minister.

Khwaja Hoti said that in view of above, the Food Department had established 21 wheat procurement centres at Peshawar, Nowshera, Swabi, Charsadda, Mardan, Malakand, Buner, Lower Dir, Upper Dir, Swat, Haripur, Abbottabad, Battagram, Kohistan, Mansehra, Kohat, Hangu, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat and Dera Ismail Khan.

He contended that the officers of NAB and Anti-Corruption Establishment were also included; however, they reportedly distanced themselves from these committees after alleged allegations of corrupt practices and irregularities.

“The KP government had set the price of 40kg of wheat at Rs3900 and had capped the purchase limit from each dealer and farmer at 500 tons on the pretext of transparency,” added. Hoti said that the government had to purchase 0.6 million metric tonnes of wheat for the years 2024-25. He alleged that the market price of 100kg wheat in Punjab was Rs8000 but the same quantity had been procured at Rs9750 or more.The petitioner asked the court to halt the proceedings of the committee and direct the NAB to make transparent investigations into the mega wheat scam.