PESHAWAR, April 27: The NWFP government will employ all available options to get a ban imposed by Punjab on inter-district movement of wheat lifted as the province is facing an acute shortage of the commodity.

Talking to newsmen at the Peshawar Press Club on Tuesday, Food Minister Fazal Rabbani said options under consideration included disconnection of power supply to Punjab, stopping the supply of raw material and banning export of its products to Afghanistan.

Under the Constitution, trade among the four federating units could not be banned, he said, adding that Punjab was out to sabotage the basic law. The minister said that the ban was unconstitutional and unlawful, and it would only earn Punjab hatred of three smaller provinces.

He said that four provincial food ministers would meet on April 30 at the Frontier House, Islamabad, to discuss the situation arising out of the ban. He said that in case Punjab refused to lift the ban in the meeting, the provincial food ministers would announce their future line of action later.

Mr Rabbani said the NWFP had brought the issue to the notice of the federal government through Federal Food Minister Sardar Yar Mohammad Rind. The NWFP wanted to solve the matter within the framework of the Constitution, he said and added that it didn't want to violate any provision of the law.

The minister said that the only objective of the ban was that Punjab wanted to have a complete control over wheat price and its supply as it wanted to benefit from the crisis.

The minister said the ban was also in violation of a decision by the Economic Coordination Committee which was taken during the army-led government. Mr Rabbani on the occasion announced that transportation of wheat purchased by Frontier's traders in different districts of Punjab would begin after April 30.

"A caravan of 500 trucks will leave Punjab for the NWFP in the first week of May. We hope that the Punjab government will not create any hurdles for businessmen. If the Punjab government stops our caravan it will trigger a new kind of crisis", he added.

In reply to a question, the minister said that the convoy would be accompanied by senators, MNAs and MPAs of the province. Similarly, he said the NWFP would also have to ask the federal government to allow it to import wheat from India and Tajikistan.

He said that thousands of people in the NWFP were associated with the grain sector and Punjab's decision would not only discourage investment in the province it would also render these people jobless. The NWFP produced only one million tons of wheat as against its requirement of about 20 million tons annually, he added.

He said the attitude of Punjab towards other provinces would force Balochistan and the NWFP to disconnect supply of gas and electricity to Punjab. Now it was up to the leadership of Punjab to solve the issue in an amicable manner.