Resolution passed: KP Assembly asks Punjab to lift ban on wheat, flour movement

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Punjab government to lift the ban on the movement of wheat and flour to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The resolution was adopted after both the opposition and treasury benches criticised the Punjab government for imposing the ban, which they said had triggered a hike in flour prices and caused a temporary crisis in the province.

Speaker Babar Saleem Swati chaired the session, which continued from the afternoon until the evening.

Pakistan Peoples Party parliamentary leader Ahmad Karim Kundi moved the resolution, which was passed unanimously.

It stated that the ban on wheat movement was an illegal step by the Punjab government that had created an artificial crisis and driven up flour prices in the rain and flood-hit province.

Some lawmakers warned that if the Punjab government failed to lift the ban, then the KP government should consider halting the supply of electricity and gas to Punjab.

Ruling party MPA Fazl Ilahi from Peshawar said that KP produced hydel electricity and natural gas, and if Punjab stopped supplying wheat, KP should also stop providing electricity and gas.

Provincial Minister Mian Khaliq-ur-Rehman alleged that the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz-led governments in Punjab and at the Centre had repeatedly created artificial flour crisis in KP by halting wheat supplies. He added that the issue had been resolved during the Imran Khan-led government when wheat supply was ensured.

Provincial Food Minister Zahir Shah Toru informed the House that wheat flour prices in KP had risen sharply over the past three weeks after Punjab imposed the ban.

“We produce about 1.472 million metric tons of wheat annually, but we need to procure about 3.8 million metric tons from Punjab to meet our requirements,” he said, adding that KP should also be allowed to purchase or import wheat from other countries.