Growers threaten protest against PTB, tobacco companies

SWABI: The tobacco growers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have decided to launch a strong protest movement against the Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) and companies for protecting the interests of tobacco purchasing companies and fleecing the poor farmers.

Addressing a meeting on Sunday, Tehreek-e-Ittehad Kashtkaran Pakhtunkhwa leaders, including TIKP’s chairman Arif Ali Khan, senior vice-chairman Dawood Jan Khan of Ismaila, vice-chairman Iqbal Khan of Shewa, general secretary Asfandyar Khan, joint secretary Shahab Khan, Ahmad Jan Kaka of Marghuz and others said that they would call

public meetings in Charsadda, Mardan, Buner, Mansehra, Swabi and other tobacco producing districts in the first phase.

In the second phase, the leaders said that growers would stage sit-ins and protests outside the PTB in Peshawar, Parliament House and offices of the Federal Board of Revenue and finance ministry in Islamabad to press the government for acceptance of their demands.

They said that the tobacco companies and PTB had connived to slash the tobacco quota 14.2 percent for the current year which, they termed, a bid to exploit the growers.“PTB is a tobacco regulatory authority between tobacco purchasing companies and growers. The board is bound to ask from tobacco purchasing companies about their next year requirement and then inform the tobacco growers regarding the new quota of companies, so they could grow tobacco according to the set target,” Arif Ali Khan said, adding that the PTB had miserably failed to announce the tobacco quota before October 31, 2024.

He said that if the PTB had declared the tobacco quota in time, the growers would have not planned to cultivate more tobacco rather they would have opted for other crops. Asfandyar Khan suggested that the government should increase tobacco export and stop the smuggling of foreign branded cigarettes worth Rs350 billion to Pakistan. He said that if the government curbed the illegal smuggling of the tobacco, it would help enhance revenue of national kitty as well as support the growers to cultivate more tobacco.

“The PTB should work with the government to produce the best quality of tobacco and the Federal Board of Revenue should also end advance tax on re-drying of the produce,” he demanded.

The participants also said the tobacco companies were bound by the law to spend at least six percent of their profits on the welfare and development of tobacco producing areas and farmers, but it never happened.They also called for the abolition of the contractual employment system for workers in tobacco and other factories and said jobs of workers should be protected under labour laws.