SC to superv­ise buying, sellin­g of sugarc­aneISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) has observed that three banned sugar mills in south Punjab will not be reopened. During the hearing of petitions filed by growers for the reopening of three relocated mills – Chaudhry Sugar Mills to Rahim Yar Khan, Haseeb Waqas Sugar Mills to Muzaffargarh and Ittefaq Sugar Mills to Bahawalpur – Chief Justice of Pakistan Mian Saqib Nisar said that the banned mills will not be reopened, but they may be asked to compensate the farmers. The bench has also questioned the nexus between the Punjab government and the banned mills and expressed annoyance over the local administration’s failure to resolve the issue. “You are flaring up the situation and creating problems for farmers.” Justice Nisar said the court’s priority was to not let poor farmers suffer. However, the top court had turned down their request and directed owners of five other sugar mills to buy the crop instead.

Source: The Express Tribune February 19, 2018 11:15 UTC