Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Faisal Karim Kundi on Thursday condemned the Punjab government’s reported ban on wheat supply to his province.

Kundi had last week expressed his regret over reports that wheat supply from Punjab had been suspended. However, Punjab officials tasked with maintaining supplies of commodities and regulating their prices denied there was any ban on the grain’s inter-provincial movement.

“The arbitrary ban imposed on August 31, 2025, by the Government of Punjab on the supply of wheat and flour to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is a blatant violation of Article 151 of the Constitution and a serious breach of national unity,” Kundi said on X.

The Constitution’s Article 151 states that “trade, commerce and intercourse throughout Pakistan shall be free”, but empowers the parliament to “impose such restrictions on the freedom of trade, commerce or intercourse between one province and another or within any part of Pakistan as may be required in the public interest”.

The KP governor further noted: “As a result, the price of a 20kg bag of flour has soared to approximately Rs 1,200 in Punjab and up to Rs 2,800 in KP — an unbearable burden on families already struggling with inflation.

“On behalf of the people of KP, I strongly condemn this discriminatory act and urge Chief Minister Punjab [Maryam Nawaz] to not only condemn but also immediately withdraw this verbal ban,” he added.

Stressing that food security cannot be “compromised by provincial barriers”, Kundi also called on the PTI’s KP government to “urgently provide wheat quotas to flour mills to stabilise prices and protect the rights of our people”.

Yesterday, the KP Assembly unanimously passed a resolution, denouncing the Punjab government’s “restrictions” on wheat supply amid claims about a 68 per cent hike in flour prices across the province.

The sharp rise in prices is evident in branded flour, with some millers raising the cost of a five-kilogramme bag of fine flour to Rs700, up from Rs500 on August 1 and Rs600 on September 1, despite the arrival of the new wheat crop earlier this year.

The issue came to light earlier this month, when the KP chapter of All Pakistan Flour Mills Association said the Punjab government had imposed a ban on the interprovincial movement of wheat and called it “unconstitutional”.

Some market analysts believe the ongoing wheat crisis is unrelated to the recent floods in Punjab and other regions, as the new wheat crop was harvested in March/April. However, hoarders, stockists and investors are reportedly holding substantial wheat stocks, waiting for further price hikes driven by supply and demand dynamics.

On Tuesday, Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz announced a three-day grace period for all wheat hoarders to voluntarily declare their inventory or face action.

The government has also recently unveiled a new roadmap for the ‘National Wheat Policy and Wheat Management Strategy’ for 2025-26 and onwards that will serve as a long-term plan to ensure food security, safeguard farmers’ livelihoods, protect consumers and build resilience against market disruptions and climate-induced emergencies.