PA witnesses verbal slugfest over sugar dues, wheat raids

The Punjab Assembly witnessed heated exchanges as treasury lawmakers slammed sugar mill owners for failing to clear outstanding payments to farmers, while the Opposition criticised the government over raids on farmers' homes in the name of curbing wheat hoarding.

Amid growing frustration, Speaker Punjab Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan summoned the Sugarcane Commissioner to appear before the House and explain why farmers had not been paid despite preparations already underway for the upcoming crushing season.

"Why have cultivators still not been paid, even as the new crushing season approaches?" Speaker Khan asked, stressing that growers could not be left at the mercy of mill owners.

He directed that the matter be taken up on priority, with a comprehensive explanation presented before the assembly. Treasury lawmaker Rao Kashif drew attention to the plight of farmers in Faisalabad, where sugar mill owners had yet to release payments despite soaring sugar prices.

He pointed out that many growers had been financially crippled by devastating floods that destroyed standing crops across Punjab.

"Growers have nothing left. Their fields have been washed away, and they are awaiting payments, but the administration and deputy commissioners appear helpless before the millers," Kashif lamented.

He urged the Speaker to summon the Cane Commissioner immediately to ensure accountability and relief for farmers.

On the Opposition benches, MPA Rana Shehbaz sharply criticized the government for targeting farmers through raids on their homes over alleged wheat stockpiling. He told the House that in Ahmedpur Sial, at least two farmers had been detained on such charges.