LAHORE: In response to the wheat crisis, which was “deliberately” brought about by the former caretaker prime minister and certain bureaucrats, farmers have called for a nationwide demonstration on May 21 as well as a sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly on the same day in Lahore.
Held here on Thursday, a gathering of fifteen farmer organizations from throughout Pakistan talked about the continuing wheat crisis that had shocked the farming community as a whole, especially in Punjab.
Following the gathering of farmers from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee general secretary Farooq Tariq called for the immediate arrest of importers, bureaucrats, and former caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar for their roles in the wheat scam.
In addition, he called for swift action against the importers of the unwholesome wheat as well as restitution for the harm done to the growers.
Kissan panel demands the ex-prime minister, bureaucrats, and importers of wheat be arrested.
He expressed sorrow that 3.3 million tonnes of grain—1.3 million of which were insect-infested—were wasted between August 2023 and March 2024, costing Rs330 billion.
Malik Zulfiqar Awan, president of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad, requested that “all those involved in the wheat import scandal should be arrested at once and tried in NAB courts and the policy of authorizing the private sector to import grain should be abolished.”
Even though everyone knew that the grain had already been sown on more acres this season in the nation than in previous years, he bemoaned the fact that the wheat was imported.
The farmer bodies urged that tehsil-level laboratories be established in order to eradicate counterfeit pesticides and fertilizers, as well as that individuals who charge exorbitant interest rates on loans to small farmers face severe consequences.
To guarantee that farmers receive fair prices for their produce, they worked to regulate grain markets and establish minimum support prices for wheat and other commodities. They argued that each year, the government should purchase wheat from farmers and guarantee that gunny bags are distributed equitably to peasants and small landowners.
They threatened to escalate their agitation until their demands were granted, threatening nationwide rallies on May 21. They promised to bring up the matter internationally and to stop tolerating any more exploitation.
