The Lahore High Court on Thursday ruled that the federal government didn’t enjoy the powers to fix sugar prices as the provinces were the sole authority to decide the matter.
The verdict was announced by a two-member bench headed by Justice Shahid Karim as it decided in favour of the sugar mills owners who had filed petitions against the federal government for fixing the sugar prices.
It was the former coalition government’s decision to fix the sugar prices which had triggered the controversy with the mills owners moving the court against the move, as the people continued suffering from the rising food prices.
As the masses looked towards the government intervention to arrest the trend, the decision was welcomed by everyone. However, the action they had been waiting for was nullified.
On April 30, the federal government [Ministry of National Food Security and Research] had notified Rs96.08 per kg as ex-mill price and Rs99.33 per kg as retail for Punjab.
However, the LHC sprang into action and suspended the notification just four days later on May 4 with a contention that the subject of price fixing was a provincial matter.
It didn’t stop there as another stay order issued on August 15 which bars the provincial government from monitoring the sugar supply chain, which is incentivizing smuggling to Afghanistan.
As a result, the sugar prices in several parts of the country touched Rs200 per kg.
