Lahore: Zaman Watoo, the Punjab Food Secretary, has attributed the skyrocketing sugar prices in Pakistani markets to widespread smuggling into Afghanistan.
Watoo revealed that despite the high price of sugar, mill owners are engaging in tax evasion, resulting in billions of rupees lost.
He further alleged that over seven million tons of sugar have been illicitly smuggled from Pakistan into Afghanistan, with sugar mill owners and cartels siphoning off substantial sums from the public’s pockets. Watoo suggested that the production cost for sugar, including profits, should be capped at Rs95 per kilogram.
The official expressed the Punjab government’s helplessness in combating the sugar mafia, citing court-issued stay orders as a hindrance.
Watoo stated that Punjab and Sindh have launched comprehensive monitoring of sugar mills in response to the unprecedented hike in sugar prices. Inspectors from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) have been deployed to sugar mills in both provinces.
He emphasized that referring to the apparent “extraordinary profit” as plunder would not be an exaggeration.
