Islamabad [Pakistan], April 18 : Kissan Ittehad chairman Khalid Hussain Bath said on Wednesday that the farmers will stage a sit-in in Pakistan over low wheat support prices on April 19, Pakistan-based ARY News reported.
While speaking on ARY News show "The Reporters," Khalid Hussain Bath said that the government has imported wheat worth USD 2.2 million, which has not been used yet. However, he added that local growers were not able to sell their crops.
He said that the government, instead of buying wheat from local farmers in Punjab, imported it. Khalid Hussain Bath said that farmers had stocks of wheat with no buyers while the flour mills were buying wheat for Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 3000 per 40 kg bag.
Khalid Hussain Bath also highlighted the rising fuel prices, which he stressed have further increased the challenges for the farmers. He said that farmers were not able to recover the money spent on cutting wheat crops through thrashers due to the increased price of diesel, according to ARY News report.
He said that government officials were misinforming Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz regarding issues faced by farmers and growers in Punjab. He stated that government was not paying attention to the problems of farmers, adding that they would be sent back without a meeting with the Punjab CM.
On April 11, Kissan Ittehad withdrew from a planned protest after negotiations with the Punjab government. Punjab Agriculture Minister Syed Ashiq Hussain Kirmani held a meeting with a 10-member delegation of the farmers' body, ARY News reported.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed issues faced by the farmers in Punjab. Kirmani met the community leaders and established a joint investigation committee to address issues faced by farmers. He had assured the farmers' leaders of carrying out an inquiry into the import of wheat during the previous caretaker government.
Earlier in March, Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) urged the federal government on Saturday to declare an agricultural emergency in the nation, ARY News reported.
In a statement, Khalid Hussain Bath demanded the restoration of the previously announced Pakistani currency (PKR) 1.8 trillion package for farmers, initially proposed by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
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