PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Governor Faisal Karim Kundi has written a letter to Prime Minister (PM) Shehbaz Sharif, urging him to immediately lift what he termed “unconstitutional restrictions” on the inter-provincial supply of wheat to the province. In his letter to the PM, Governor Kundi stated that the curbs imposed on wheat movement are contrary to the constitutional principle of federal cooperation and are undermining KP’s food security.
In the letter, KP Governor Faisal Kundi requested the Prime Minister’s intervention to restore the smooth flow of wheat to the province.
The appeal from the governor comes just a week after the federal government approved the National Wheat Policy 2025–26, aimed at bolstering Pakistan’s food security and ensuring uniform supply across provinces.
A high-level meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on October 19 finalised the policy. It was attended by the chief ministers of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Gilgit-Baltistan, a representative from the KP government, and the PM of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, among other stakeholders.
During the meeting, the Prime Minister emphasised the crucial role of wheat in Pakistan’s agricultural economy and said the new policy had been developed after extensive consultations with provincial governments, farmers’ associations, and industry representatives to ensure consensus.
Under the policy, federal and provincial governments will jointly procure about 6.2 million tonnes of wheat from the 2025–26 crop at a support price of Rs 3,500 per maund, aligned with international import rates.
Importantly, the policy also removes restrictions on the inter-provincial movement of wheat, guaranteeing an uninterrupted supply across the country.
To monitor implementation, a National Wheat Monitoring Committee, chaired by the Federal Minister for National Food Security and including provincial representatives, will meet weekly and report directly to the Prime Minister.
However, amid ongoing political tensions between provinces, Punjab’s Information Minister Azma Bokhari clarified on Sunday that there is no restriction on the transport of flour in Punjab.
In a statement, Bokhari said that if there is a flour shortage in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial government should release its own wheat stocks from godowns or procure supplies from the Pakistan Agricultural Storage and Services Corporation (PASSCO). “Punjab cannot sacrifice the rights of its people for the political spectacles of another province,” she asserted, adding that nearly 200 flour mills in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are currently closed.
