Passco Wheat Bags Missing, FIA Probe Opens
The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has launched an inquiry into Passco wheat bags reported missing from stores of the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation in Hafizabad.
The inquiry began after the Passco managing director formally referred the matter to the FIA director general. An initial probe had detected shortages and irregularities in the wheat stocks. Seven senior officials of the Hafizabad Passco zone, including the zonal head and the project manager, went into hiding after the shortage came to light, according to official sources.
The Passco managing director has set up a special audit inspection committee to examine the stocks in full and scrutinise official documents. The FIA Gujranwala zonal director has been assigned to head the inquiry, and a team has started work.
Passco wheat bags: 50,000 missing, say sources
Sources said an initial probe by Passco headquarters and the FIA found that 50,000 wheat bags were missing from the stocks. The investigation is expected to identify the suspects involved in the scam.
The investigation team will also assess the financial loss caused to the national exchequer. According to sources in the FIA, a criminal case may be lodged against those found involved.
At this stage, the figures and the claim that officials went into hiding come from official sources quoted in the report, not from a court finding. No suspect has been named in the report, and no charge has yet been filed. The inquiry will need to establish how the bags went missing, over what period, and who was responsible for the records.
Passco is the state corporation that buys, stores and releases wheat for the public system. Its stocks are a buffer between harvests and a tool for keeping flour supply steady. A shortage at a zonal store therefore matters beyond the store itself, because it reduces the stock available for release when markets tighten.
Why the timing matters
The Hafizabad inquiry comes at a sensitive moment for wheat supply. Wheat prices have risen sharply over the past year, flour prices have followed, and the government is importing wheat to bridge the gap until the next crop arrives from Sindh and Punjab between March and May.
In that setting, every bag in a government store counts. A shortage of 50,000 bags is not just an accounting problem. It represents grain that was meant to be available for the public system and is now unaccounted for. If the grain was sold outside the system, it may have reached the market through private channels, but the public system lost both the grain and the revenue it should have earned.
The case also raises a question about controls. Passco stores are supposed to be checked against dispatch and receipt records, and shortages of this size should show up in stock audits. The special audit inspection committee will need to explain whether records were altered, inspections were skipped, or the shortage built up over time without being flagged.
For farmers and flour mills, the immediate effect is limited. The inquiry does not change the wheat already in the market. But if further shortages emerge in other zones, confidence in the public stock system could suffer, and the government may need to rely more heavily on imports.
The FIA inquiry is now the main route to answers. A criminal case, if filed, will test the evidence in court. Until then, the 50,000 missing bags remain an allegation under investigation, not a proved theft by any named person.
Frequently asked questions
What is being investigated in Hafizabad?
The alleged theft of thousands of wheat bags from Passco stores in Hafizabad, after an initial probe found shortages and irregularities.
How many bags are reported missing?
Sources said an initial probe found 50,000 wheat bags missing from the stocks.
Who referred the case to the FIA?
The Passco managing director formally referred the matter to the FIA director general, and a special audit inspection committee was also set up.
Who is heading the inquiry?
The FIA Gujranwala zonal director has been assigned to head the inquiry, and a team has started work.
Has anyone been charged?
No. Sources said a criminal case may be lodged against those found involved, and seven senior officials were reported to have gone into hiding after the shortage surfaced.
