Sindh Senior Minister and Provincial Minister for Information, Transport and Mass Transit, Sharjeel Inam Memon, said on Thursday that Punjab and Sindh had witnessed a bumper wheat harvest. However, with the arrival of the crop, profiteers and hoarders purchased and stockpiled large quantities of wheat, preventing the government from procuring and storing the required amount.
Addressing a press conference in Karachi, Memon said that the Sindh government had decided to crack down on the situation. During the operation, 150,000 tonnes of wheat were recovered from hoarders, who were compensated at government-approved rates. He warned those continuing to stockpile wheat to hand over their reserves to the government so that the public could receive relief. He added that wheat prices had declined by 13% after the hoarded stocks were released into the market.
Memon said that the Sindh government had taken immediate notice of the murder of Dr. Akash Kumar and that police had acted swiftly by arresting three suspects – Anil, Ram Chand, and Suresh. He added that the vehicle used in the crime had also been recovered. He praised the police for their performance and stated that the government was ensuring prompt action against every serious crime. Senior Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon strongly condemned remarks made against the country’s martyrs and war veterans, saying that Pakistan’s armed forces had defended the nation on every front and had decisively defeated the enemy during the Indo-Pak conflict. He said that soldiers performed their duties with the spirit of defending the homeland and regarded martyrdom as an honour. He respectfully urged Maulana Fazlur Rehman to withdraw his statement, saying that it had received significant coverage in the Indian media and had consequently benefited the country’s adversaries.
He said that martyrs and war veterans were heroes of the entire nation and that their stature could not be diminished by any statement. He added that service in the Pakistan Armed Forces was driven not merely by financial considerations but by a commitment to defending the homeland. Sharjeel Inam Memon said that the entire nation had remained united during the Indo-Pak war, with every segment of society playing its role. He stated that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had always struggled against dictatorship but had never spoken against the country’s armed forces. He recalled that Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, during an overseas visit, had responded to a question about Imran Khan by saying, ‘He is my Prime Minister,’ describing it as an example of national unity. He further said that Pakistan was the only country in the Islamic world that commanded respect internationally, attributing this in part to former Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s vision of making the country a nuclear power.
He said that the country belonged to all its citizens and that no one should overstep their boundaries. He stressed that political, military, commercial, and social stakeholders should adopt a unified stance on matters of national interest. Responding to questions, Sharjeel Inam Memon said that Maulana Fazlur Rehman was an experienced politician and that withdrawing his statement would further enhance his stature. He added that any decisions taken by the Prime Minister under the current circumstances would be made with the country’s economic interests in mind. Regarding wheat, he said that Punjab and Sindh had formulated their own policies. He stated that he did not believe wheat had been transported from Punjab to Afghanistan; however, there was evidence that wheat had moved from Sindh to Punjab. He clarified that, under the Constitution, no province had the authority to prevent wheat from being transported to another province.
He said that the matter of Priya Kumari was extremely serious and that the Sindh government’s position on the issue had already been made clear. Addressing Mustafa Kamal, he said that if the federal minister wished to stage a sit-in, he should first resign from his ministerial post, vacate his seat, and contest a by-election. Regarding water shortages, he said that the Sindh government had written to the Prime Minister and the federal government on several occasions, demanding that Sindh receive its constitutional share of water and that IRSA fulfil its responsibility by ensuring the fair distribution of water among the provinces in accordance with existing agreements.
Memon said that the PPP had sacrificed its leadership and endured hardships but had never spoken against national institutions. He added that the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) had also been among the political forces that supported Pervez Musharraf’s presidency, including his continuation in military uniform. Speaking about Karachi’s significance, he said that the city formed the backbone of the national economy. He noted that while inter-district motorways were being constructed in Punjab, the federal government had not undertaken any major motorway project in Sindh, calling it an injustice to both the province and the country’s economy.
Responding to a question regarding Nasir Shah’s health, he said that the provincial minister had been in Dubai when his condition deteriorated due to a blood clot in the brain and that he had subsequently been admitted to a hospital for treatment. He clarified that this did not reflect a lack of medical facilities in Sindh, noting that the province had several modern and state-of-the-art hospitals. He added that those speaking against the unity of the province were seeking to create conflict in an attempt to revive their declining political relevance. However, he said, the government would refrain from taking any action that could lead to such a situation. In response to another question, he reiterated that IRSA should fulfil its obligations and ensure that all provinces receive their legitimate share of water in accordance with agreed arrangements.