Rawalpindi averts flour crisis

Mills end strike, food dept suspends personnel involved in assault on flour mill owner

RAWALPINDI:

Negotiations between the Director General of Food Punjab and the Pakistan Flour Mills Association over the assault on the owner of a Taxila flour mill have been successful.

All security branch personnel responsible for assaulting the flour mill owner and registering a false case against him have been suspended, while departmental proceedings against them have been initiated.

The false case registered against the flour mill owner will also be withdrawn. Following the development, the Pakistan Flour Mills Association restored flour supplies across Rawalpindi Division and called off its ongoing strike.

As a result, a flour crisis in Rawalpindi Division was averted before it could worsen.

During the negotiations, it was also agreed that all future matters would be resolved through mutual consultation and dialogue.

DG Food Punjab Saif Anwar Jappa personally travelled from Lahore to Rawalpindi in view of the flour mills' strike, suspension of flour supplies and the worsening situation. Immediately upon his arrival, he invited the Pakistan Flour Mills Association for a meeting, which was promptly accepted.

A delegation of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association Punjab, led by its Divisional President Raza Ahmed Shah, met the DG Food at the Food Department's Islamabad office.

The delegation included former Punjab chairman Riazullah Khan, Senior Vice Chairman Punjab Atif Nadeem Mirza, senior flour miller and former executive member Tariq Farooq Sethi, executive member Sheikh Yaser Zia Ahmed, Sheikh Ozaifa Nadeem, Khawaja Imran, Sanaullah Durrani, Chaudhry Mukhtar and Tanveer Alvi.

From the Food Department, Rawalpindi District Food Controller Faheem Arshad and Attock District Food Controller Shams Abbas assisted the DG Food.

During the meeting, the DG Food expressed regret to the association over the unfortunate incident at Lasani Flour Mills in Taxila.

Speaking to the association, the DG Food Punjab said the provincial government would leave no stone unturned in providing protection to industrialists and businesspeople across the province and would not allow any government department to subject them to injustice or mistreatment.

He informed the association that the security branch personnel involved in the incident had been suspended and disciplinary proceedings against them were under way.

The DG Food Punjab also listened to all the issues raised by the Flour Mills Association and assured its members that they would be resolved.

The Pakistan Flour Mills Association described its meeting with the DG Food Punjab as positive and announced that it would extend all possible cooperation to him.