Punjab govt decries wheat import denial
Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has expressed concern over the federal government’s refusal to allow the province to import wheat.
The chief minister complained while presiding over a meeting in which the available stock of wheat and other matters came under review that Sindh and other provinces had been provided wheat being imported by the federal government.
He stated that the federal government had imported wheat earlier also but had not given a share to Punjab.
The Punjab government had now sought permission to import one million metric tonnes of wheat from its own resources.
The chief minister said the provincial government had sought the permission after taking into consideration the public needs as per the constitutional and legal course. However, the federal government had refused to grant the permission.
Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said the attitude of the federal government towards the people of Punjab was not only regrettable but condemnable. He alleged that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was conspiring to take revenge from the people of Punjab over ousting the PML-N from the province.
He alleged that a nefarious attempt was being made to create wheat scarcity in Punjab. He revealed that thousands of tonnes of wheat was still being provided to Islamabad from Punjab.
He stated that the stock of wheat was comparatively less in Punjab during the current year due to various reasons. The import wheat to Punjab had become inevitable due to the recent flood and other reasons.
Matters pertaining to availability of urea, phosphate, seeds of wheat and subsidy on the wheat being imported came under discussion in the meeting.
The CM called for effective modus operandi for giving the subsidy.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi said in his message on the World Food Day that enhancing the production and ensuring food security was the foremost priority of his government.
“Nutritious diet is the fundamental need and right of every human being and a close collaboration between the government and agricultural sector is essential in order to ensure food security,” he added. Coronavirus, infectious diseases, climate changes, violent disputes and other challenges have increased the problems of food shortage for a large number of people. The decline of food production and distribution challenges are aggravating the problem.
He said the food distribution mechanism had faced a severe loss due to floods in the country, which had increased the pressure on the prices of edible items.
The chief minister emphasised the need for coordinated steps to increase food production and ensure better nutrition for the people.
The CM urged the people to stop wastage of food to mitigate the possibility of its scarcity. It is essential to spread awareness in this regard.
He reiterated that all resources would be utilised to timely fulfil the food requirements of the country.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 17th, 2022.