LAHORE: Farmers across Pakistan, responding to a call by the Kissan Rabita Committee, staged protests in various cities, demanding the provincial government start wheat procurement immediately and arrest those responsible for the wheat import scandal.
In Punjab, protests occurred in Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Jhang, Pakpattan, Chiniot, Kasur, Khanewal, Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Borewala, Chishtian, and Jampur. Sindh saw demonstrations in Karachi, Shikarpur, Nawabshah, Qamber Shahdadkot, Nowshehru Feroze, Mirpurkhas, Dadu, Sanghar, and Shahpur Chakar. In Balochistan, farmers protested in Quetta and Jhal Magsi, while in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, protests were held in Peshawar and Mardan.
Key leaders of these protests included Malik Zulfiqar Awan, the central president of Pakistan Kisan Ittehad, Sindh Hari Tehreek leader Noor Muhammad Katiyar, Tariq Mehmood, Gulzar Khan, Ali Khoso, Rana Abdul Rehman, Rifat Maqsood, and others.
In Lahore, a major protest took place at Charing Cross with hundreds of farmers, including men, women, and youth, participating. Farooq Tariq, General Secretary of the Pakistan Kisan Coordination Committee, addressed the demonstration and laid out the farmers’ demands. These included the immediate start of wheat procurement, the arrest of those involved in the wheat scandal, and the repeal of policies allowing private sector grain imports.
Tariq also demanded that the government set a minimum support price for wheat and other crops and regulate the market to ensure fair prices for farmers. He called for the abolition of the IMF’s neoliberal and anti-farmer policies, compensation for those affected by the wheat scandal, and strict action against those charging interest on loans to small farmers.
A farmer from Sheikhupura, Mehar Muhammad Boota, highlighted the impact of the government’s inaction, stating, “Because of the government not buying wheat, we don’t have enough money to plant rice, and that’s the case with 80 percent of the small farmers.”
Other speakers at the Lahore protest included Saima Zaa, Rifat Maqsood, Qamar Abbas, Zaigham Abbas, Hasnain Jameel, Maher Muhammad Boota, and Ali Abdullah.