• Murtaza seeks clarity on buying mechanism amid Passco winding-up; blasts new local govt law
• Azma asks PPP to rein in its Punjab leader, take notice of remarks

ISLAMABAD: Amid uncertainty over the status of the country’s main wheat-buying body, the PPP has sought clarity from the federal government on the wheat procurement mechanism after the minimum support price was recently set at Rs3,500 per 40kg.

In May this year, the federal food minister informed the National Assembly that the Pakistan Agriculture Storage and Services Corporation (Passco) was being abolished because the market had been deregulated and the government was not buying the staple anymore.

It may be noted that in line with the IMF demand, the government had deregulated the wheat market much to the chagrin of farmers, but a decision recently overturned through the national wheat policy.

Against this backdrop, PPP Punjab Secretary General Hassan Murtaza asked the PML-N government in Punjab as to who would procure wheat and under what mechanism, following the “abolition” of Passco.

Addressing a press conference, the PPP leader said that in the absence of Passco, farmers were at the mercy of middlemen who had been buying at a price much lower than the recently announced price of Rs3,500.

Mr Murtaza also spoke about the differences with the coalition partner, PML-N, and urged the need for dialogue to resolve disagreements.

“We are allies, you (PMLN) should sit with us and talk so that these differences do not surface again,” he said. He referred to recent reports about the withdrawal of security from Lahore’s Bilawal House, which was denied by the provincial government. “If someone reported that security was removed from Bilawal House in Lahore, they (PMLN) denied it in the media and did not contact us,” he rued.

About the flood relief plan that stirred differences between the two parties, Mr Murtaza clarified that the PPP had given the government an “immediate relief plan” on the flood issue and suggested that the data of the Benazir Income Support Program be used for the purpose, but there was an uproar by the PML-N government over this suggestion.

He claimed the Punjab CM was provided inaccurate statistics regarding the floods and subsequent losses. “Farmers needed urgent money; for this, we asked you (PMLN) to use the BISP data and provide immediate assistance to the growers so that they could meet their needs,” he added.

Mr Murtaza said the PPP did not want to derail the system, adding that at least the spokespersons of the Punjab government should reconsider their choice of words.

The PPP leader also complained that research centres were not providing seeds to the farmers. “What will a poor farmer do with the limited compensation amount of Rs5,000 per acre when a bag of DAP fertiliser is available for Rs15,000,” he added.

Local govt law

He also reiterated reservations against the local government law. He said the PPP expressed reservations on the legislation as the law was “questionable”. However, the PPP will participate in the polls, he added. “We have serious reservations about the legislation, as non-party-based elections are the beginning of pre-poll rigging,” he said, adding that the PPP would soon present its strategy regarding the local bodies act. “Even if our concerns are not addressed, we will not leave the field open. The PPP will actively participate in the upcoming local government elections,” he said.

It may be noted that the Election Commission of Pakistan on Oct 21 asked the Punjab government to formulate the delimitation rules within four months in light of the new law, as it withdrew an earlier order under which polls could have been held by the end of this year.

‘Take notice’

The PML-N, however, took exception to the press conference by Mr Murtaza, particularly the criticism of the agri policies and the local government act. Punjab Minister for Information and Culture Azma Bokhari asked the PPP to take notice of Hassan Murtaza’s remarks; otherwise, the PML-N would be compelled to respond to him.

“Whether Murtaza is conspiring against his own leadership… If anyone owes an apology, it should be to Asif Ali Zardari and Bilawal Bhutto, who could not even keep such defeated elements under control,” she quipped. Ms Bokhari said the PPP never missed a chance to malign the PML-N leadership.

After months of broadsides, the acrimony between the PPP and the PML-N came to an apparent end following meetings between the top leaders, including PPP chief Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The PM even agreed to use BISP for flood relief, while the PPP central executive committee decided to give its ally one month’s time to make good on the ‘unfulfilled’ promises.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2025