Farmers have announced plans for a nationwide protest scheduled for May 21, accompanied by a sit-in outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore.
They are rallying against what they perceive as a deliberately induced wheat crisis by the former caretaker prime minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar and certain bureaucrats.
A meeting of fifteen farmer associations convened on Thursday to address the ongoing wheat crisis that has affected the farming community, particularly in Punjab.
Following a collective meeting involving farmers from Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, Pakistan Kissan Rabita Committee general secretary Farooq Tariq demanded the arrest of former caretaker prime minister Anwarul Haq Kakar, bureaucrats, and importers involved in the wheat scam.
Furthermore, he called for adequate compensation to be provided to affected growers and swift measures to be taken against those responsible for importing substandard wheat.
He expressed disappointment over the wastage of Rs330 billion through the import of 3.4 million tonnes of wheat from August 2023 to March 2024, with 1.3 million tonnes being infested with insects.
“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,” demanded Malik Zulfiqar Awan, president of Pakistan Kissan Ittehad.
The farmer organizations called for the establishment of laboratories at the tehsil level to eradicate counterfeit fertilizers and pesticides, along with strict action against those who charge exorbitant interest rates on loans to small-scale farmers.
The farmer groups advocated for minimum support prices for wheat and other crops, as well as regulated grain markets, to guarantee fair prices for farmers’ produce. The farmer groups issued a warning of nationwide protests on May 21 if their demands are not met.
