LAHORE: Granting stay in a petition filed by sugar producers, the Lahore High Court (LHC) Monday ordered the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to not go ahead with the imposition of penalties on the growers until further orders.
The mills’ owners had challenged the government’s decision of the imposition of fines on charges of selling sugar at exorbitant rates in the high court.
On October 16, Pakistan Sugar Mills Association chief Zaka Ashraf said mills’ owners were being arrested and fined in violation of the law.
Addressing a press conference along with other office-bearers, he said the law should be equal for everyone. “Sugar mills’ owners are worried about the steps taken by the government [against them],” he maintained.
He said the government was forcing the millers to crush the sugarcane in its raw form. “This will reduce the production of sugar in the country. The destruction of the industry will only benefit India,” he opined.
Prime Minister Imran Khan had a few days ago ordered action against the sugar barons in view of increasing prices of the commodity in the open market.
