Islamabad, Oct 21 (UNI) Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday reprimanded officials for delaying the import of wheat which has caused a major shortage of flour in the country.

While presiding over a meeting of the federal cabinet Mr Khan said the situation could have been averted if at least 1.5 tonnes of wheat had been imported in the month of July, Dawn News reported.

The prime minister termed it an administrative failure, and said “I had foreseen the crisis and ordered the import of wheat in April but it was not followed.”

He agreed that the reason why the bureaucracy did not take a clear decision regarding the import of wheat was mostly out of fear of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), but at the same time he accepted that the responsibility for the entire thing ultimately fell upon the government.

It is also being said that the adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Dr Hafeez Shaikh had also complained that the bureaucracy was not signing files out of fear of the NAB.

At a function on Monday, the prime minister had said that unexpected rains this year, especially during the wheat harvesting season, had affected the overall output of the crop, which had lead to shortage in the market leading to an increase in its price.

The meeting was informed that the Punjab government was releasing 17,000 to 20,000 tonnes of wheat every day and the commodity was also being supplied to the utility stores as per demand. It was also told that the Sindh government was releasing 85,000 tonnes of wheat to mills in the month of October.

The cabinet, however, reiterated its resolve to ensure adequate supply of food items to the market and take steps to reduce their prices.

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