Lahore office of Jahangir Tareen’s sugar mills raided, records seized

LAHORE : The Competition Commission of Pakistan raided on Friday the head office of JWD Sugar Mills, which is owned by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen, in Lahore. The team seized records, including emails and WhatsApp messages exchanged between sugar mills owners on pricing, crushing and production. A raid was previously conducted on September 14 during which other records were seized. On Thursday, Tareen submitted a reply to the FIA in which he said that his sugar mills made Rs200 billion in three years. Of this sum, Rs81 billion was paid to sugar farmers. The FIA is investigating the PTI leader in an inquiry into Pakistan’s sugar crisis. JDW Sugar Mills comprise of three units, two of which are located in Rahim Yar Khan in south Punjab and one is located in Ghotki, Sindh. It accounts for 17% of the country’s total sugar product. A sugar inquiry report, issued on May 2, revealed the way sugar barons had cheated farmers, benefited from subsidies and created conditions so that the price of sugar could go up. Tareen was among the people accused of benefitting the most from the crisis. The report said that six major groups control 51% of the total sugar production. Tareen’s JDW Mills have the biggest share that is 20% of the total production. NNI