Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has ordered the suspension of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage & Services Corporation’s (PASSCO) managing director and general manager procurement for not following the instructions regarding the use of technology in the wheat procurement process and for being negligent in this regard.

While presiding over a meeting regarding wheat stocks in Lahore on Monday, the premier directed officials to conduct a third-party audit of PASSCO’s stock.

“Insurance of crops should be ensured for the economic security of farmers,” he said and directed the authorities concerned to use technology to make the wheat procurement process clean and transparent.

A mobile phone application should be developed in this regard, he said.

The PM directed PASSCO to procure 400,000 metric tons of additional wheat transparently and efficiently. “Farmer’s loss will not be tolerated under any circumstances.”

Good-performing PASSCO centres and officers would be selected and recognized at the government level, he added.

“The government is taking every possible step to ensure food security in the country and that all-out measures will be taken for the prosperity of farmers,” PM Shehbaz said.