Centre, Sindh issued with notices on plea against flour shortage

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Tuesday issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers, the Ministry of National Food Security & Research, the wheat commissioner and others on a petition filed against flour shortage across the province.

Petitioner Syed Mehmood Akhtar Naqvi said in his plea that the federal and provincial governments had failed to control the smuggling of wheat, its shortage and the increase in its price, resulting in the people facing hardships in getting the essential commodity in accordance with the notified price.

He informed the court that the flour crisis in the province had resulted because of the smuggling of wheat and flour from Sindh to Afghanistan, causing flour’s price to be increased to Rs6,500 per 100 kilograms and its sale at the rate of Rs70 per kilogram in retail market.

The petitioner said that due to the flour crisis, the bread makers across the province have also increased the price of bread, while the government is only a silent spectator in such a situation.

He said that the federal and provincial governments have been blaming each other for the flour crisis, while the people continue to be forced to purchase flour at a much inflated rate.

He requested the court to order the government to file reports on the smuggling of wheat out of Pakistan and to constitute a joint investigation team to look into the allegedly artificial flour crisis.

After the preliminary hearing of the petition, the SHC’s division bench headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers, the Ministry of National Food Security & Research and others, calling for them to file their comments in the next hearing.