SAHIWAL: Tension is reportedly mounting between tenants of Proomnabad Farm near Dalmain Ganj village and the administration over the wheat harvest lease amount on Saturday.

Since the Proomnabad Farm falls in Okara and Pakpattan, police teams of the two districts have been stationed at the farm for the last 24 hours.

The situation stems from demands made by the farm administration, asking tenants to pay cash in installments or surrender eight maunds of wheat per acre, as per an “agreement.”

Representatives of the Anjuman Mazareen Punjab (AMP), however, refuted the official claim.

Speaking to Dawn, they asserted that no such agreement, written or verbal, existed. In response, the tenants staged a peaceful sit-in along the road connecting Adda Sukhpur and Shah Yaka.

The tenants say the Proomnabad Farm spans over 5,334 acres, with 3,100 acres in possession of landless tenant families. Fazil Hussain, a local activist of Anjuamn Mazreen Punjab, said the tension escalated after the administration demanded crop share.

Meanwhile, local AMP leader Zakir Hussain said the sit-in was a peaceful protest aimed at “securing our rights”.

He said tenants had cultivated wheat over 1,000 acres and others crops like maize, potatoes and fodder over the remaining land. He said tenants would not pay installments or share the harvest as they and their elders have been cultivating this land for the past 120-130 years.

He appealed to CM Maryam Nawaz to intervene and mediate a peaceful solution.

AMP activists said the harvesting had not been obstructed by the police.

Okara DPO Muhammad Rashid and his Pakpattan counterpart Javed Iqbal Chadhar said peace and calm prevailed in the villages of Dalmain Ganj and Bail Ganj.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2025