RAWALPINDI: The Flour Mills Association, Rawalpindi and Islamabad region, on Saturday announced its decision to go on a strike from Sunday (today) and refused to grind wheat over what it said unjust distribution of the wheat quota among the mills by the Rawalpindi administration.

It also threatened to extend the strike across the province if the provincial government did not take notice of the unfair distribution of wheat, adding the administration provided wheat to its favourite flour mills.

The announcement was made by Riazullah Khan, regional chairman of the Flour Mills Association Rawalpindi-Islamabad chapter, Ahmed Shah, Atif Nadeem Mirza and others at a press conference at National Press Club in Islamabad.

They said the residents of Rawalpindi and Islamabad would have faced wheat flour shortage had Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz not taken notice of the issue. They said wheat quota was given to all flour mills without any discrimination as per the directions of the chief minister so people could get subsidised wheat flour at Rs980 per bag. However, bureaucracy was out to fail the government scheme, they added.

“Punjab government announced to provide wheat on May 19 and the supply of quota wheat was provided to the flour mills on May 25. But suddenly the supply was stopped on June 3 on the directives of the Rawalpindi administration and distributed among a few flour mills only,” said Riazullah Khan.

Rawalpindi Merchant Association chief Saleem Pervaiz Butt said it was difficult for shopkeepers to sell subsidised wheat flour at Rs980 bag because Rs950 was the ex-mill rate and Rs5 was charged by flour mills for loading. Transporters were not ready to transport it in cheaper rate especially after petroleum prices were increased Rs60 per litre in three days.

“The price committee comprising PML-N and PPP elected members from Rawalpindi district met and failed to fix new prices of edibles as the wholesale dealers were not providing pulses, vegetable oil and grains at old rates,” he said.

Taxila

Flour millers in Taxila announced to boycott the official wheat quota to register their protest against what they said unjust distribution of wheat among the flour millers.

A meeting of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association (PFMA) Punjab chapter announced on Saturday that over two dozen flour mills had unanimously decided not to buy the official wheat from the Punjab food department after the newly-introduced wheat quota policy by the Rawalpindi district administration.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2022