Call for sanity

Given that our economy is centered on agriculture, the attitude of our governments, including the recent PTI administration, towards farmers is quite appalling. I fail to understand how Pakistan can afford to give endless amnesty schemes to the real-estate sector, which is converting arable land into concrete jungles, but not address the genuine demands of farmers.

Given the severity of the liquidity crunch, the government needs to wake up and straighten out its priorities. Almost a third of our crops have been wiped out by the floods, yet fertile green pastures are still being bulldozed by a nexus of developers, wealthy elites and government officials. If Pakistan can give gas and electricity subsidies to sugar, cement and fertilizer cartels, it can give subsidies to farmers to operate their tube wells. Sanity must prevail.

Malik Tariq Ali

Lahore