Pakistan: Punjab's wheat ban pushes Rawalpindi and Islamabad to the brink of a flour catastrophe

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], November 8 : A worsening flour crisis has engulfed Rawalpindi and Islamabad after the Punjab Food Department imposed a sudden ban on wheat supplies to mills operating in both cities.

The move has prompted the Flour Mills Association to announce the suspension of flour distribution from Monday, raising alarms of an impending food emergency in Pakistan's twin cities, as reported by The Express Tribune.

According to The Express Tribune, all existing orders for wheat, flour, and fine flour placed by dealers, tandoor owners, and grocery stores have been cancelled since Friday night, triggering an immediate shortage in the markets.

The Rawalpindi Flour Mills Association held an emergency meeting, chaired by Patron-in-Chief Sheikh Tariq Sadiq, to deliberate on the crisis. Participants criticised the Punjab government's decision to withhold wheat permits for Rawalpindi and Islamabad mills, emphasising that both cities depend entirely on supplies from Punjab's wheat-producing regions.

The association cautioned that unless wheat permits were restored without delay, flour production and supply would remain paralysed, further aggravating shortages. It urged the Punjab Food Department to revoke its "ill-considered" decision, warning that continued disruption could escalate into a full-blown humanitarian crisis in the federal capital and its adjoining areas.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Naanbai Association has renewed its criticism of the government's handling of flour pricing. The association's central president, Shafiq Qureshi, noted that the price of a 79-kilogram sack of red flour has doubled from PKR 5,500 at the start of the Shehbaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz administrations to Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 11,000, while fine flour has surged from PKR 6,200 to PKR 12,600, as highlighted by The Express Tribune.

Qureshi condemned what he described as "state oppression," saying that since October 1, dozens of tandoors have been demolished, 79 sealed, and more than 100 owners fined between PKR 25,000 and PKR 50,000 by the government's Price Enforcement Force.

He accused authorities of taking out their administrative frustration on tandoor owners instead of addressing the core issue of wheat supply mismanagement. The association has submitted a formal requisition demanding an immediate Price Control Committee meeting to align roti prices with current flour rates, warning that public patience and bread affordability are nearing a breaking point, as reported by The Express Tribune.

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