KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed the Sindh food secretary and the director of food to appear in court on Monday on a petition impugning a ban on inter-district movement of wheat.

The Pakistan Flour Mills Association along with three flour mills operating in the metropolis had petitioned the SHC in May contending that the Karachi division was not a wheat growing area and the petitioners along with around 90 other Karachi-based mills were exclusively dependent on supply of wheat from other districts of Sindh and other provinces.

Citing the food department secretary, director food, commissioners of six divisions of Sindh and others as respondents, the petitioners submitted that the food department had fixed the procurement target for itself at 1.4 million metric tons to avoid any shortage while making a policy statement on the floor of the provincial assembly, the then food minister had stated that target of 1.4 million metric tons had been met and government had further imported 400,000 metric tons of wheat.

They argued that after the statement of the food minister, there was no justification to continue the ban on inter-district and inter-provincial movement of wheat and the same was illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.

Karachi facing flour shortage as wheat being sent to Afghanistan due to ban, SHC told

At the outset of the hearing, a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Ahmed Ali M. Shaikh remarked that wheat must be provided to the provincial metropolis without any hurdle as shortage of wheat would cause jacking up of flour price in the city.

He deplored that trucks loaded with wheat could reach Afghanistan instead of the provincial metropolis.

The chief justice said that since the city was not producing any wheat the same was needed to be brought to Karachi from other parts of the province and country.

He said that it was a very serious issue and directed the secretary and the director of food to appear in court on Aug 21.

Earlier, the provincial food authorities in their comments had contended that flour mills were allowed to purchase and store a specific quantity of wheat, but they were barred from trading it.

However, they asserted that as per the policy of the Sindh government, the millers were restricted to procure wheat from the open market.

They also claimed that the demand of the provincial metropolis had adequately been met and there was no shortage of flour in the city.

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2023