At least two peasants have lost their lives following police action against the protesting farmers in Lahore on November 4. These farmers had gathered to demand that the wheat support price be raised to Rs 2,000 per maund. The police arrested several leaders of the peasants and registered cases against many. According to the Pakistan Kisan Ittehad (PKI) some of the activists are still missing.

PKI leaders have alleged that the police used contaminated water to disperse the protesting peasants, which caused the death of a peasant leader, Malik Ashfaq Langriyal. Another peasant, Dilbeer Kahn, passed away in a hospital after two days later, allegedly from exposure to the ‘poisonous’ water.

The high rate of inflation has hit farm workers in Pakistan hard. They complain that they don’t get adequate prices for their produce. The government has failed to provide any relief amid Covid-19 lockdowns.

The right to peaceful protest is being denied by the state through the police. Speaking at a seminar in Karachi, several labour leaders said such brutality against poor peasants was unacceptable.

Despite having an agricultural economy, Pakistan has been facing food insecurity due to poor planning, corruption and lack of regulation of the essential commodities markets.

Big businessmen and big landlords, acting in connivance with the people at the helm of affairs, mint money by creating artificial shortage of essential commodities, thus causing a steep rise in prices of commodities. Farm workers lack even the basic necessities. Many of them have to buy wheat and sugar from the market at exorbitant rates despite growing wheat and sugarcane themselves.

The nation has witnessed the sugar and wheat crises and a steep rise in the prices of vegetable like onions and tomatoes in the recent months. The scammers remain at large because they belong to the ruling elite.

Even after the high-level Sugar Commission identified the culprits behind the sugar scandal, no major player has been arrested so far. Nor has a worthwhile case been initiated against the “sugar mafia.”

The wheat crisis has followed a similar plot. An artificial shortage was created and resulted in a sharp increase in the prices of flour and bread across the country. The government first allowed export of wheat to Afghanistan and later imported costlier wheat from Russia to meet the domestic demand. The import did not help bring down the wheat prices.

Agriculture is the backbone of Pakistan’s economy. About 44 percent of Pakistan’s 65 million labour force is associated with this sector. The huge number of workers has denied their basic rights. They are not protected under the labour laws. After the 18^th Amendment, provincial assemblies have made their own labour laws. Sindh claims to have made the highest number of labour laws among the provinces there is no enforcement. In some cases rules of business for the enforcement of the new laws have not been framed.

The farm workers in Pakistan are facing numerous problems due to their informal status and decades-old cropping patterns and a low rate of mechanisation. A majority of peasants’ families live miserable lives, lacking access to shelter, education and health. The peasants are not even treated as labour under the labour laws. Thus they don’t have the right to join a trade union. Their wages are not fixed because they are considered sharecroppers. They cannot access the social security facilities available to industrial workers.

The nation has witnessed the sugar and wheat crisis and a steep rise in prices of vegetable like onions and tomatoes in the recent months. The scammers remain at large because they belong to the ruling elite.

Peasants are not registered with the provincial Social Security Institutions, Employees’ Old-age Benefits Institution (EOBI) or Workers’ Welfare Fund. While the Sindh industrial relations law has finally included agricultural workers and fishermen in the definition of labour, rules have not been framed for the enforcement of the law. Therefore, such workers cannot form unions or access social security.

During the Covid-19 pandemic the federal government had announced a one-time cash grant for the poor and people affected by the lockdown. A majority of the farm workers could not avail this financial support. Even Prime Minister Imran Khan admitted that 80 percent of the workers were not registered and could not access government support.

The only laws the peasants can invoke to claim their rights and settle their disputes with landlords are tenancy laws like the Sindh Tenancy Act, 1950, and the Punjab Tenancy Act, 1887. These laws have now become obsolete and mostly non-functional.

The Sindh Tenancy Act has been amended many times and has lost its efficacy. After the last amendment in Sindh Tenancy Act in 2013 the law is no more applicable anywhere.

A recent decision by the Sindh High Court in a petition by a farmer from Sanghar has provided a ray of hope for farmers. The court has ordered the provincial government to form tenancy tribunals under the supervision of judiciary and amend the relevant laws for this purpose.

Unfortunately, the landmark decision has been challenged by the Sindh government before the Supreme Court of Pakistan.

Currently, tenancy tribunals are operating under the Revenue Department. They are headed by assistant commissioners. Since the judiciary has been separated from administration, only tenancy tribunals are still under control of district administration, which is influenced by the political elite in the country, most of them big landlords.

The late Ghulam Ali Leghari, who had been a registered peasant for an influential zamindar in Sanghar district, was summarily ordered away after the landlord died and his sons inherited the property. Leghari, approached the local Tenancy Tribunal in Sinjhoro taluka of Sanghar district. The tribunal ordered the landlords not to expel the peasant in such a way and to settle the outstanding amount.

However, the landlords who belong to the ruling political party, forced the peasant’s family to leave and burned their thatches. The police did not provide any help to the poor peasants. Instead, the landlords filed criminal cases against the peasant and his sons. Leghari approached the Sindh High Court for justice and after a prolonged legal battle, passed away in absolute poverty.

The writer works at PILPER