ISLAMABAD: The Federal Cabinet on Wednesday approved the request for granting powers of ‘inquiry commission’ to the committee formed recently to probe the recent wheat flour and sugar shortage in the country.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan briefing the media in Islamabad said the committee, which is due to present its report on the shortage of two commodities before the cabinet next week, had been given powers of ‘inquiry commission’ under the Commission of Inquiry Act 2017.

Also Read: Rs1,400 per 40kg support price for wheat recommended

She said the inquiry commission will also be authorized to form special committees for certain matters.

Firdous Awan said the prime minister directed the committee to step up its efforts to conclude the fact-finding process so that the culprits could be taken to the task.

On Mar 9, the Wheat Review Committee had submitted its recommendation to the Economic Coordination Committee of the cabinet to fix minimum support price of the wheat crop as 1400 rupees per 40 kilogram for the current year.

The decision was taken during the meeting of Wheat Review Committee held in Islamabad under the chair of Minister for National Food Security and Research Khusro Bakhtiar.

The committee had recommended provincial governments to ban supply of wheat for poultry sector as feed.

It had also expressed satisfaction that there is sufficient quantity of wheat stock available in the country to meet the needs of the population.

On Feb 3, Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan had said action had been initiated against the Customs officers who failed to curb smuggling of wheat to Afghanistan.