ISLAMABAD [Pakistan], Jan 15:
Amid the deepening food crisis in Pakistan, people were seen chasing a wheat truck on their bikes, risking their lives to get a bag of wheat.
Sharing the video, Professor Sajjad Raja, chairman of National Equality Party JKGBL, wrote that “this is not a motorcycle rally, but people in Pakistan are chasing a truck loaded with flour, in the hope that they will buy just one packet of flour. Do we have any future in Pakistan? This video is just a glimpse of what is happening in Pakistan”. In a video shared on social media, some people riding a motorcycle are seen chasing a truck carrying sacks of flour, and people can be seen chasing the vehicle to buy the lot. One of the chasers coming closer to the wheat truck shows the note and asks for a packet of flour.
He also advised residents in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir to open their eyes. People in PoK have been at the receiving end of discrimination for over seven decades and the situation continues to remain so even today.
“This isn’t a motorcycle rally, ppl in #Pakistan are desperately chasing a truck carrying wheat flour, hoping to buy just 1 bag. Ppl of #JammuAndKashmir should open their eyes. Lucky not to be #Pakistani & still free to take decisions about our future. Do we have any future with Pakistan?” he tweeted.
Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is on the verge of food riots as large parts of the region, including Bagh and Muzaffarabad, are facing an unprecedented flour shortage with people holding Islamabad and the PoK government responsible for the acute food shortages.
While the government supply of subsidised wheat has nearly stopped altogether, the prices of other essentials have skyrocketed as well.
Pakistan is facing the worst food crisis in many years, with local media reports indicating that there is an acute shortage of wheat flour in many parts of the country.
Since last week, flour prices have skyrocketed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces.
A packet of flour is being sold for 3000 Pakistani rupees. Fights and brawls for flour can be seen in the streets of Pakistan.
According to a report, the crisis is mainly affecting the low-income group. People are seen standing in long lines for hours for lots, amid a huge shortage of wheat in the retail market.
The prices of other food items are also skyrocketing in the country. Armed guards are protecting trucks carrying wheat and flour from unruly mobs.
Flour in Karachi is being sold from Rs 140 per kilogram to Rs 160 per kilogram. In Islamabad and Peshawar, a 10 kg bag of flour is being sold at Rs 1,500 per kilogram while a 20-kilogram bag of flour is being sold at Rs 2,800. Mill owners in Punjab province have increased the price of flour to Rs 160 per kilogram.
Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been facing the worst-ever flour crisis as a bag of 20-kilogram flour is being sold for Rs 3,100 after the government failed to control the price of the stable, The News International reported.
Prices of pulses in Pakistan have also been going up due to the non-clearance of imported shipments at the port and delay in the approval of relevant documents by banks, Pakistan-based Dawn newspaper reported.
Rauf Ibrahim, the chairman of Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association (KWGA), said traders on Thursday held a protest outside the State Bank’s head office against the non-clearance of over 6,000 containers of pulses at the port for the past two months due to a shortage of dollars and the reluctance of banks to clear import documents, according to Dawn. (ANI)
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