Undeclared wheat stock of 26 mills to be confiscated
By Muhammad Ali Malik

ISLAMABAD—Chairman Federal Food Committee (FFC) Lt General(r) Farooq Ahmed Khan Monday directed the Rangers force to confiscate thousandsof tonnes of wheat lying undeclared with 26 mills in Sindh.
He issued the directive during an FFC meeting chaired by him to review the availability of essential edibles including wheat flour in the country. Besides the representatives of four provinces, the meeting was attended by officials of MINFAL, Frontier Constabulary (FC) and Rangers, Utility Stores Corporation (USC), AJK Food Department, Pakistan Vanaspati Manufacturers Association (PVMA), All Pakistan Sugar Mills Association, All Pakistan Dal Merchant Association and Pakistan Oil and Seeds Development Board. The mills where the undeclared stock is to be confiscated included the 18 whose wheat quota had already been suspended by the government.
The Chairman also directed that cases be registered against all these mills. The meeting expressed satisfaction over the current flour availability in the country and noted that all the four provinces and AJK were being provided enough stock and price of the commodity was stable now.
About Punjab the meeting was informed that besides relocation of wheat quota of 18 defaulter mills to other mills, daily quota of 8 mills had been suspended for violation of rules.
A 20 kg bag of flour was available in Punjab at Rs 285. The Chairman FFC directed to further bring down the price.
In Balochistan no hoarding by any mill was reported. However the meeting was informed that show-cause notices had been issued to 10 mills over low standard of the wheat flour. These mills were directed to maintain standard.
Lt. General (r) Farooq Ahmed Khan also directed to speed up the transportation of wheat in the whole country, particularly in NWFP. He asked the TCP to continue wheat transportation to the province even on Sundays. He warned the flour mills that the government was providing 100 per cent quota of wheat to them. He warned that quota of any mill holding the commodity for more than one day without grinding and marketing would be confiscated. He asked the authorities to deal sternly with hoarders and profiteers.