FEDERAL Minister for Finance Shaukat Tarin has confessed that the country has enough sugar but the mill owners are not releasing the stock to the market. Surprisingly enough he has also observed that the sugar lobby is so powerful that action against it could not be taken. A large number of sugar barons are sitting either on the treasury or opposition benches, which explains the reason why the government has been at a loss dealing with them, he has remarked. Mr Tarin's intentions are not in doubt but at the end of the day it reflects poorly on the government's commitment to bail the country out of the crisis and its duty of pulling up the big fishes in the sugar industry. The federal government's action of letting them off the hook just a week ago by directing provincial governments to stop crackdown against the deviant mills is simply inexcusable. Whether influential or not they should held accountable. Though the Economic Coordination Council the other day allowed the import of sugar, it has also shown its concern over government's foot-dragging. On the whole, the sugar crisis would be grist to the floating stories inducing people into believing that the government is being run in a corrupt fashion. Apart from Pakistan Steel Mills and PIA whose mismanagement and corruption have been highlighted by the media, it is now the powerful sugar cartel that has added to the woes of the nation. It remains to be seen whether the government musters the will to take any meaningful action against them.