The officials of the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco)

in Muzaffargarh and Bahawalnagar districts are facing criminal cases for illegal
sale of gunny bags in the ongoing wheat procurement season.

In Muzaffargarh, the Jatoi police registered a case against Passco in charge of

Fatehpur centre Muhammad Mohsin for selling 1,000 gunny bags for Rs700 per bag to
traders on the complaint of the Jatoi assistant commissioner (AC). The police
recovered the bags from traders.

The FIR states complainant Jatoi AC Tariq Mahmood Malik with his team raided
different wheat procurement centres and found thousands of bags missing. A case
with fraudulent charges was registered in Jatoi police under sections 419 and 420
of the Pakistan Penal Code against Mohsin.

Before the police case, the gunny bag
Audit Committee convener Syed Sibtain
visits to different wheat procurement
team convenor, 21,000 gunny bags were
supervisors.
embezzlement had been uncovered by Bardana
Bukhari leading to Alipur AC's surprise
centres of Passco. According to the audit
illegally sold to traders in Alipur by Passco

The Alipur AC and the convenor checked stock of various Passco centres, such as
Khairpur Sad at, Sultanpur, Baqir Shah North, and Alipur, and found thousands of
sacks illegally sold to traders even before the bags were distributed to the
farmers, Mr Bukhari asked the Passco DGM to hold an inquiry, after which action
will be taken against those officials involved in corruption.

According to the report, the AC and the convenor checked the Passco centres at
Sultanpur where Passco center in charge admitted that 11,000 bags were sold to
traders illegally. The committee found 6,000 bags missing at Khairpur Sadat centre.
The body found similar complaints at other centres.

Mr Bukhari said that he had sent a letter to the deputy commissioner and the chief
minister's office. Dawn has learned, many traders of Muzaffargarh approached Passco
centres in Alipur and Jatoi for gunny bags after offering bribes.

In Muzaffargarh district, Alipur and Jatoi tehsil are under Passco for wheat
procurement, while Muzaffargarh tehsil and Kot Addu district are under the
fooddepartment. The Punjab food department did not give even a single bag to
farmers, while the Passco department started bag distribution to farmers, and one
farmer can get six bags per acre.

Farmers are worried about the non-provision of gunny bags while private buyers
offer Rs3,000 per 40 kilograms to farmers.

In Muzaffargarh, Layyah, and Kot Addu districts, a majority of farmers were forced
to sell their wheat to traders at the lowest rates after disappointment with the
policy of the Punjab government, which introduced an app for gunny bags, where no
farmers could log in.

Several farmers said that in the future they could cultivate wheat only for
themselves.

The Passco DGM was not available for comment, while Convenor Bukhari said that he
had informed the high-ups for strict action against irresponsible officials.

In Bahawalnagar, a farmers protest against the delayed provision of gunny bags, the
sale of official gunny bags to factory owners, and the favoring of middlemen and
politically affiliated people led to the district administration booking and
arresting two factory owners for illegally procuring official gunny bags. The FIR,
filed on the complaint of Naib Tehsildar of Dunga Bunga Muhammad Mushtaq, stated
that on April 27, farmers demonstrated at the Khatan Passco purchasing center
against the staff and the Incharge for selling official gunny bags to middlemen at
rates of Rs400-500 per bag

instead of providing them to farmers.

On April 28, the Bahawalnagar AC along with revenue and police officials visited
the Muslim Cotton Factory on Haroonabad Road where the team observed that wheat
from private gunny bags was being illegally loaded into Passco gunny bags. Along
with seizing 3,000 illegally obtaining official gunny bags, each containing 100 kg
of wheat, the team also seized 20,000 maunds of wheat in the factory. Cotton
factory owners Muhammad Sajid Bashir and Muhammad Bashir later told the team that
they got the official gunny bags from Khatan Passco In Charge Shujaat at the rate
of Rs500 per bag. The team arrested the duo and sealed the factory with all
available stock in it.

The DGM Passco was not available for comments.

Bahawalnagar Deputy Commissioner Zulfiqar Ahmad told Dawn that that they would take
strict action against the elements exploiting farmers and the crackdown against
such elements would continue.