RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Information Secretary and Kissan Wing organiser Sheikh Waqas Akram has said that if farmers’ rights are not protected, they will observe Labour Day on May 1 by holding sit-ins in markets, fields, and highways.
In a statement issued here, he said it would be highly inappropriate that government officials deliver heartfelt speeches on workers’ rights on International Labour Day, while farmers — who have shed their blood and sweat to meet the country’s food needs — are forced to protest on the streets for their legitimate rights.
He made these remarks after meeting delegations of farmers from different districts of Punjab along with Kissan Wing central spokesperson Khalid Nawaz Sudhraich. Sudhraich was led delegations of small and medium farmers from Rawalpindi, Sheikhupura, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Daska, Multan, and other districts.
Waqas Akram and Khalid Nawaz criticised the Punjab government over the wheat procurement issue, saying that despite announcing a support price of Rs 3,500 per maund, middlemen and elements of the mafia were forcing farmers to sell wheat at prices lower by Rs 500 to Rs 700 per maund. The delegations told PTI Kissan Wing leaders that serious questions are being raised over Punjab’s wheat procurement policy. They also alleged that the Punjab government has reportedly provided its warehouses free of cost to selected companies, along with various facilities. They further alleged
that despite this arrangement, these companies are purchasing only a limited share of wheat from each farmer, leaving the rest at the mercy of middlemen, who are exploiting them severely.
