ISLAMABAD: Sugar mills of two top political aides to the prime minister –Humayun Akhtar Khan and Khusro Bukhtiar—PMLN chief Shahbaz Sharif and 4 others of powerful mafia are involved in non- payment of billions of rupees to the growers, besides indulging in unlawful act of producing ‘out of the book’ sugar and tax evasion, reveals an official document made available to NEWSMAN
.
Despite living in New Pakistan, none of the government departments dared to take action against these millers for their serious crime.
‘Out of the book’ sugar production is the worst act and a crime on the part of any sugar miller as it’s a beginning of a chain of illegal activities like buying of sugarcane from the growers outside the mills at less than fixed rates and conceal production to evade taxes that count in millions in the case of each mill.
Like Humayun Akhtar Khan and Khusro Bukhtiar, other 5 rogue millers are Madina Sugar Mill owned by Mian Rashid of 92 channel . Ramzan Sugar Mill and Al-Arabia Sugar Mill owned by Shahbaz Sharif. Pattoki and Darya Khan Mill of Mian Aslam , a close relative of Malik Riaz of Bahria Town. These rogue mills are holding payment of billions of rupees of the growers.
Khusro Bukhtiar is a federal minister and holding portfolio of the industries and Production ministry. To give an impression of a clean man he had distanced from Sugar Policy Board soon after taking oath as a federal minister.
His brother, Omar Bukhtiar, who is a minister in Punjab cabinet of Usman Buzdar, looks after sugar mill’s operation directly. The two brothers are using their official position and influence to dodge the law and enjoying their political clout and link with the prime minister to be untouchable for the law enforcing authorities.
These two political aides to the prime minister are appearing on the media as government representatives and giving sermon to the masses on morality and rule of law.
Despite indulging in unlawful activities like tax evasion and producing out of the book sugar, names of Tandlianwala Sugar mills owned by Humayum Akhtar Khan and RYK Sugar Mills of Khusro Bukhtiar (Moonis Elahi is also partner with Khusro Bukhtiar in RYK) never appeared in any media campaign . The mills of these political aides are chronic defaulters on payments, but neither the concerned district administration nor any other responsible authority of federal or provincial governments could dare to take action against them.
Interestingly, the prime minister and his entire team was chasing JWD Sugar Mill of Jahangir Tareen Khan to fix- him up in sugar prices scandal of 2019. The price scandal was not specific to any one mill. It was rather a market driven phenomenon. The real crime is non-payments to the growers, buying sugarcane out of the book and sugar production from such stock for tax evasion, one committed by Humayun Akhtar Khan, Khusro Bukhtiar and other 5 millers, but each one of them enjoys immunity being a close aide to the prime minister.
“I had provided sugarcane to Tandlianwala Sugar Mill in the last season and its administration is yet to pay me Rs 50 million”, Shahid Rao, a grower told NEWSMAN via phone from Vehari.
Shahid Rao is not only grower who is helpless to get payment of the produce from powerful mill owners, Many others have the same issue, but being close associate of the prime minister they are untouchable..