PESHAWAR: The contractors supplying ration to prisons have demanded of the government to clear their within one week otherwise they will stop the supply.

Addressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club on Thursday, representatives of contractors Mir Afzal Khan said that they were under severe financial pressure and would stop supplying ration to the prisoners if their dues were not cleared within a week.

Flanked by his colleagues, he said that since the last financial year, the prison contractors had not been paid their dues. He said that the government had to pay millions of rupees to them. He said that the contractors supplying ration to around 40 prisons from Chitral to Kohistan and Dera Ismail Khan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were facing severe financial crisis.

He demanded of the provincial government to pay dues to the contractors supplying food to the prisons of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa till December 7, otherwise they would stop supply of ration to prisoners.

Haji Imtiaz, another contractor, said that they were regularly providing ration to prisoners as their prime responsibility but the government was using delaying tactics to clear their dues. He said that the non-payment of areas was violation of the agreement.

“We have set December 7 as deadline for clearance of our dues. The government should take it serious otherwise we will not be held responsible for any kind of complication,” he said.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2022