ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary Information Sheikh Waqas Akram on Wednesday vehemently criticized the federal and Punjab governments for what he called their “anti-farmers and anti-poor” policies and violent crackdown on peaceful protesting growers in the province.
In a statement, the PTI leader also lambasted the illegitimate regime for failing to pass on fuel price reductions to inflation-battered citizens living in poverty, using the false pretext of diverting the saved funds to develop Balochistan — merely to deceive the masses.
Waqas categorically stated that PTI stood firmly with the farmers and fully supported their countrywide protest, demanding a fixed support price of Rs4,500 per 40kg to stabilise the situation.
Waqas blasted the “illegitimate regime” for sucking the blood of farmers and systematically ruining the agricultural economy through exploitative policies against growers, which would neither be allowed nor tolerated, come what may.
PTI leader recalled that under Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government, farmers were not protesting on the streets but were instead invited to the Prime Minister’s House as valued stakeholders. He emphasized that they were also provided with various facilities, including fair prices for their produce, Kisan Cards, and other incentives to boost the agriculture sector.
Waqas stated that agriculture was the backbone of Pakistan’s economy because around 70 percent of the population depended on agriculture for its livelihood and employed about 42.3% of the labour force. He criticized Maryam-led fake provincial government for failing to honor the promise of wheat support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg, leaving farmers in severe distress.
Waqas sounded alarm that Pakistan could risk a major agricultural crisis if the federal government failed to promptly set a wheat support price, where the economy heavily relied on the sector. He went on to say that farmers in Punjab and across the country were getting extremely worried about the losses they were facing due to the federal government’s decision to abolish the wheat support price, a policy in place for over five decades.
Waqas revealed that wheat was now being sold in the open market at Rs1,700 to Rs2,100 per 40 kg, which is far below the actual cost of production, estimated at Rs3,400. He questioned how farmers could be expected to sell at such a loss, adding government was benefiting middle men.
PTI CIS blasted the regime for promoting corporate farming, thereby undermining the interests of small farmers by depriving them of their land, water, and labor. He warned that such policies aim to concentrate agricultural power in the hands of a few large and powerful players engaged in predatory practices that prioritized profits over food security.
Waqas made it clear that Pakistan has the potential to double its agricultural production, but this requires sincere and visionary leadership — not self-serving and myopic ones.
He said the regime was deliberately creating wheat crisis so as to import the commodity once again to fill their own coffers.
The PTI CIS stated that agricultural production suffered a major setback after the 2022 floods, with a shortfall of 2.4 million tonnes of wheat. However, he added that instead of supporting local farmers, the government allowed private firms to import 3.6 million tonnes of substandard wheat from countries like Ukraine, resulting in a scandal that has remained unaddressed to this day.
He demanded that the Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Junaid Akbar, probe the mega scandal and bring the culprits before the public. Waqas came down hard on the Punjab government for imposing an income tax ranging from 15 to 45 percent on farmers earning between Rs600,000 and Rs6 million, while also proposing taxes on livestock — all without providing anything in return.
Waqas called on the power usurpers to reconsider their policies affecting farmers and common citizens, urging them to instead curb extravagant expenditures – including unnecessary foreign trips of the Sharif family and its cronies and reduce lavish spending at the Prime Minister and Chief Minister’s offices.
He recalled that the then, PTI Punjab government had given special package and launched various initiatives for the prosperity of farmers — in stark contrast to the current puppet regime, which appears hellbent on destroying the agriculture sector.
Waqas lambasted the illegitimate government for denying fuel price relief to the masses by massively increasing the levy, while falsely claiming to divert the saved funds for Balochistan’s development. He said it was nothing but a ploy to deceive the public in the name of Balochistan, as the regime’s true intention was to fill its own coffers.
He urged the Shehbaz regime to end the theatrics and immediately pass on the fuel price benefit to the masses struggling with skyrocketing prices. PTI CIS stressed that if the government is truly sincere about resolving the Balochistan crisis, it must immediately release missing persons and political prisoners, recognize the local people’s rights over their resources, and expel all exploitative forces from the province.
