Sheikh Waqas sees crisis if wheat support price not announced

PESHAWAR: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary Sheikh Waqas Akram on Monday warned that the country could face a serious agricultural crisis if the federal government failed to announce a support price for wheat.

Addressing a press conference at the Information Department Cell in Peshawar, he criticized the government’s policies towards farmers and expressed concern over restrictions on meetings with the PTI founding chairman Imran Khan.

Sheikh Waqas said the party never demanded any special privileges for its founding chairman but was only asking for the rights granted to an ordinary prisoner, including access to legal counsel and family visits.

“The jail authorities are refusing to honour court orders and denying meetings to his lawyers and family members, including his wife and sister Aleema Khan,” he stated.He said Salman Akram Raja, who had been appointed coordinator by the founding chairman, was not allowed to meet him despite having court-issued documents. “This is contempt of court,” he added.

Sheikh Waqas noted that even children of those in custody were being prevented from contact, while families like that of Bushra Bibi were not being allowed visitation. “We request the judiciary to take immediate notice of these violations,” he said.

He voiced concern over missing of the social media activists, alleging that several young supporters had been detained without due process and that the accounts linked to them were fake.

The PTI leader appealed to international human rights organisations and overseas Pakistanis to raise their voices, saying, “The state must stop fostering hatred among the youth.”

Turning to the wheat crisis, the PTI leader accused the government of failing to support farmers in an agricultural country where the economy heavily relied on the sector.

He said the promised wheat support price of Rs3,900 per 40kg was not being honoured, and restrictions were imposed on the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s efforts to procure wheat from other provinces.

Sheikh Waqas claimed that after the 2022 floods, agricultural production suffered a major setback, with a shortfall of 2.4 million tonnes of wheat. “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 remains unaddressed,” he said and demanded the Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Junaid Akbar, to bring the facts before the people.

He warned that farmers would soon launch a nationwide, non-political protest movement if their demands were not met. “This is becoming a crisis of survival for our farmers. We demand a fixed support price to stabilise the situation,” he said.

Criticising the Punjab government, Sheikh Waqas said it had imposed income tax ranging from 15 per cent to 45 per cent on farmers earning between Rs600,000 and Rs6 million, while

also proposing taxation on livestock.

“What support have you provided to them in return?” he asked, accusing the government of prioritising the lavish expenses of the Prime Minister’s Office over the needs of the agricultural sector.

He alleged that farmers who shifted to cotton cultivation last year were given untested, substandard seeds, which damaged their earnings. “Now the government is trying to offload its wheat stock to flour mills at subsidised rates, while farmers suffer,” he added.

Commenting on Sindh, Sheikh Waqas said PTI would support farmers protesting against the construction of six new canals, which he claimed would further reduce the province’s share of Indus River water.

“According to the Sindh Irrigation Department, the province’s water share has already dropped by 50 per cent. President Asif Ali Zardari had ordered speedy work on these canals in July 2024, and now PPP and PMLN are standing with protesters only for political optics,” he said.

Responding to questions on internal rifts within PTI, Sheikh Waqas rejected the impression of divisions, saying the party was united under its founding chairman’s leadership. “These are differences of opinion, not factions,” he claimed.

On the Katlang Babuzai drone incident and the apparent discrepancy between the statements of KP Information Adviser Barrister Saif and Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, he said the findings of the inquiry ordered by the chief minister would be presented soon. He added that Barrister Saif had already issued a clarification and a follow-up statement.