ISLAMABAD, July 27: Federal Minister for Inter-Provincial Coordination Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao has said that he would take up the issue of providing wheat to NWFP's flour mills would be taken up with Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain and the chief minister of Punjab.

He was talking to an 11-member delegation of the NWFP chapter of the Pakistan Flour Mills Association. The delegation briefed the minister on problems faced by the NWFP flour mills due to non-availability of wheat. They said the problem had affected almost all flour mills in the NWFP, causing closure of mills and unemployment.

On the occasion, the minister said the ministry of inter-provincial coordination has been established to resolve the issues of inter-provincial coordination and the role of the ministry would be strengthened for effective, efficient and amicable resolution of issues.

Mr Sherpao said there was a shortage of wheat in the country and the government was importing one million tons of wheat to bridge the gap between demand and supply.

He said after the import, the shortage of wheat in the country would be removed and all the flour mills would start operating, adding that this would result in reduction of flour prices in the NWFP and creation of employment opportunities.

The minister said the government was well aware of the problems of the masses and taking every possible step to resolve them. The federal minister said government was working towards reducing the prices of everyday commodities and the increased prices of flour in the NWFP would be reduced to their normal prices.

All the issues of inter-provincial co-ordination, he added, would be discussed on the forum of the ministry and this would help resolve the issues quickly and amicably. -APP