Lahore, 6 May 2024, (GNP): Kissan Ittehad Pakistan announces that numerous farmers plan to participate in demonstrations on May 10, accompanied by their farming equipment, livestock, and families. Khokhar accuses the interim government of causing a loss of Rs400 billion by importing $1 billion worth of wheat.
Former interim PM Kakar refutes any misconduct allegations and expresses willingness to appear before an inquiry committee if summoned.
Farmers in Punjab province, where the majority of the wheat crop is grown, are calling on the government to halt wheat imports, which have saturated the market precisely when they anticipate a bumper crop.
According to Pakistani state media, farmers argue that the import of wheat during the latter part of 2023 and the initial three months of this year has led to an oversupply of the commodity in the country, consequently driving down prices.
Prime Minister Sharif has reportedly acknowledged the issue and established a committee under the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to tackle the concerns raised by farmers.
“On the 10th [of May], after the Friday prayers, we are initiating protest from Multan and this protest will be expanded to the whole of Pakistan,” Khalid Khokhar, who heads the Kissan Ittehad Pakistan, said at a press conference.
“Thousands of farmers will come, there will be hundreds of tractors, trailers. Animals, cattle and children and women will also be accompanied.”
In recent weeks, the price of wheat has significantly decreased and is now well below the government’s support price of Rs3,900 per 40-kilogram bag.
“We do not have any option other than this. The mafia made Rs100 billion, Pakistan’s $1 billion worth of foreign exchange was spent and the farmers incurred around Rs400 billion losses,” Khokhar said.
“They slaughtered 60 million farmers just for the sake of corruption.”
Last month, amidst the crisis, farmers resorted to protests in Lahore and various other cities, prompting the government to initiate a crackdown against the demonstrations.
Undeterred, the farmers’ alliance has reaffirmed its determination, stating that protests against the crisis will resume nationwide.
“I have approached many farmers’ groups and we have decided that we will protest. Not for ourselves, but to save the country,” said the body’s president Khalid Khokhar.
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Khokhar, speaking at a press conference, accused the caretaker government of inflicting a loss exceeding Rs400 billion on the national treasury by importing $1 billion (about Rs277 billion) worth of wheat during a foreign exchange shortage. Expressing deep concern for the plight of farmers, he lamented, “I cannot even describe how these farmers are suffering right now.”
Khokhar also revealed that he had submitted applications to the prime minister, the chief of army staff, and the director general of the Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), highlighting the extent of damage caused by the wheat import.
He cautioned that the financial distress of farmers has a ripple effect on other crops such as rice and cotton, questioning, “If farmers have no money, how will they invest in other crops”.