Federal Minister for National Food Security Rana Tanveer Hussain has said a better sugarcane crop is expected this year, emphasizing this will help stabilize the prices of sugar in the market.
He told the National Assembly during question hour that last year’s sugarcane crop was adversely affected by climate change, causing production to decline to 5.8 million metric tons from 6.8 million metric tons. He said we imported three hundred thousand tons of sugar to stabilize the prices.
The Minister for National Food Security assured the house that strategic reserves of wheat crop will be maintained. He stated that the government would ensure wheat growers receive the support price of thirty-five hundred rupees per forty kilogram. He said sufficient stocks of wheat are available with PASSCO. He said under the wheat policy 2025-26, there will be no issue in the inter-provincial movement of wheat.
Parliamentary Secretary for Industries and Production Shahid Usman told the house that the government has decided to revive Pakistan Steel Mills. He said a summary in this regard has been moved by the Ministry of Industries and Production. He also mentioned that two protocols have been signed with a Russian company for cooperation in the revival, modernization and restructuring of Pakistan Steel Mills.
Parliamentary Secretary for Railways Muhammad Usman Awaisi told the house that an anti-encroachment drive has been initiated to retrieve valuable railway land. He said that 781.84 acres of Pakistan Railways land has been retrieved from July 2024 to June 2025.
Responding to points of order, Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry informed the House that action has been taken against NADRA employees involved in the issuance of identity certificates or cards to Afghan nationals. He stated that the government’s priority is to ensure that Afghans are not registered or recognized as Pakistani citizens.
The Minister of State emphasized all facilities are being provided to the PTI founder as per the jail manual and that he is in the best of health. He pointed out that meetings are also allowed as per the jail manual. Sharing the statistics, he said that eight hundred and fifty people have met with the PTI founder and these included his family members and doctors.