At least 25 sugar mills owned by influential individuals with ties to the country’s political elite have defaulted on loans worth over Rs 23 billion taken from the state owned National Bank of Pakistan (NBP).
The revelations came to light as part of an audit of NBP and revealed a number of major defaulters. Many of these defaulters have strong and often direct ties to government politicians. The sugar industry in Pakistan is one of the most powerful in the country. Almost all of the 91 sugar mills in the country are owned by household name politicians and their families, all of whom belong to different political parties. Profit has covered the nexus between sugar barons and politicians in the past. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
