LAHORE: Former chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and Pakistan People’s Party leader Nadeem Afzal Chan has demanded that the Punjab government follow Sindh and announce a wheat support price of Rs4,000 per 40kg.

Speaking at a press conference here on Tuesday, he warned that his party would consider taking to the streets if the government failed to meet the farmers’ demand for a better wheat price.

Flanked by Ibrar Shah, Usman Malik, Ahsan Rizvi and others, he recalled that the PPP’s federal government back in 2008-2013 had increased the support price of wheat resulting in surplus grain production in the country.

Criticising successive governments for neglecting the welfare of farmers, he pointed out that the then Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government announced a Rs1,200 billion package for the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic but not a single penny was allocated for the farming community.

Expecting a good wheat crop this season, Mr Chan insisted that the government must purchase every surplus grain to be offered by the farmers.

Published in Dawn, April 17th, 2024