Pakistan: Farmers organization announces nationwide protests from May 10

Farmers’ organization Kisan Ittehad on Sunday announced the launch of nationwide protests from May 10 amid the wheat crisis in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

Kisan Ittehad president Khalid Khokhar told a press conference that farmers would march on the streets on May 10 to protest against the government’s decision to import crops instead of buying from local farmers.

Khokar alleged corruption in wheat imports and said those involved should be hanged.

He said the “wheat mafia” made a profit of (PKR) 100 billion from imports, while Pakistan suffered a loss of about US$1 billion.

According to the farmer leader, the reserve rate of wheat was increased in an attempt to accommodate the “wheat mafia”.

He claimed that farmers produced large quantities of wheat, but they were deprived of their earnings because officials imported the grain.

The Kisan Ittehad president stressed that thousands of farmers will take to the streets to protest as the government has left them no other option. According to Khalid Khokhar, the farmers approached the Prime Minister, the Army Chief, the Director General of ISI and the Food Security Minister, but their concerns were not addressed, ARY News reported.

He also urged civil society, media, lawyers and business community to join the farmers’ protest.

Khokar stressed that the protest will be peaceful and will continue until the government decides to purchase the commodity from local farmers.