On the call of the Pakistan Kisan Rabita Committee (PKRC), farmers held protest demonstrations in 30 different districts across Pakistan, demanding the immediate purchase of wheat from growers and the arrest of individuals involved in the recent wheat scandal.
In Punjab, significant protests occurred in cities including Lahore, Multan, Bahawalpur, Vehari, Jhang, Pakpattan, Chiniot, Kasur, Khanewal, Bahawalnagar, Dera Ghazi Khan, Burewala, Chishtian, and Jampur. Sindh saw farmers take to the streets in Karachi, Shikarpur, Nawabshah, Qamber Shahdadkot, Nowshehru Feroze, Mirpurkhas, Dadu, Sanghar, and Shahpur Chakar. Demonstrations were also held in Quetta and Jhal Magsi in Balochistan, and in Peshawar and Mardan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
In Lahore, hundreds of farmers, including men, women, and youth, gathered at Charing Cross on The Mall. Their primary demand was for the Punjab government to immediately commence buying wheat from the growers.
PKRC General Secretary Farooq Tariq addressed the demonstrators, presenting a comprehensive charter of demands. These demands included the immediate start of grain purchase from farmers, the arrest of those responsible for wheat import before the harvest season, market regulation to ensure fair pricing for all produce, withdrawal of grain import policies for the private sector, a minimum support price for all crops, rejection of ‘neoliberal’ and ‘anti-farmer’ policies imposed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), compensation for farmers affected by the wheat scandal, and strict action against moneylenders exploiting small farmers.
Mehr Mohammad Buta, a smallholder from Sheikhupura, highlighted the dire situation farmers face, explaining that the government’s failure to buy wheat had caused the grain market to crash, leaving growers in financial distress and unable to plant subsequent crops.
Other speakers at the Lahore demonstration included Saima Zaa, Rifat Maqsood, Qamar Abbas, Zaigham Abbas, Hasnain Jameel, Ali Abdullah, among others. The protest was closely monitored by a heavy police contingent.
