Islamabad: With skyrocketing prices of wheat and flour, Pakistan is facing its worst-ever flour crisis with reports of stampedes from several areas in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan provinces. According to reports, thousands of people are spending hours daily to get atta bags which are already in short supply in the market.
The situation is leading to widespread chaos as people are seen protesting, pushing each other while collecting supply trucks as mini trucks and vans escorted by armed guards begin distributing the flour. There have been several incidents of clashes at flour dealers and tandoors in parts of Pakistan, with people trying to escape with bags of flour.
Watch shocking video of stampede in Pakistan amid flour crisis
In Pakistan, this fight… this quarrel… these riots like situations are happening for a sack of flour…#pakistan economy #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/EzoI2LoSc9— Jyot Jeet (@activeistjyot) January 9, 2023
According to The Express Tribune, the prices of wheat and flour have skyrocketed amid the ongoing crisis in Pakistan. In Karachi, flour is being sold from Rs 140 to Rs 160 per kg. A 10 kg bag of flour is being sold for Rs 1,500 per kg in Islamabad and Peshawar, while a 20 kg bag is being sold for Rs 2,800. Mill owners in Punjab province have increased the price of flour to Rs 160 per kg. Balochistan’s Food Minister Zamark Achakzai has said that the wheat stock in the province has been “completely exhausted”. He said that Balochistan urgently needed 400,000 bags of wheat and warned that otherwise the crisis could deepen.
Similarly, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is facing the worst ever flour crisis, as a bag of 20 kg flour is being sold for Rs 3100, as the government has failed to control the price of the stable, The News International told.
One person died in the Mirpurkhas stampede during the sale of subsidized flour to people by the Sindh government, The Express Tribune reported. The death occurred near the commissioner’s office when two vehicles carrying 200 sacks each were selling flour outside Gulistan-e-Baldia Park.
According to news reports, mini trucks were selling flour bags of 10 kg each at the rate of Rs 65 per kg.
“If you can’t give us flour, drive a car over us, finish us…” People of Pakistan are threatening to die by lying on the streets if they don’t get flour…#pakistan economy #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/zzWTJAHLCG— Jyot Jeet (@activeistjyot) January 9, 2023
Police said that during the uproar, a 40-year-old laborer Harsingh Kolhi fell on the road and was trampled by the people around. According to a report in The Express Tribune, Kolhi’s family has demanded action against the officials of the Food Department.
Similar scenes of chaos were witnessed in other parts of Sindh where flour was being sold through mini trucks or vans. Two women and a minor girl were injured in a stampede outside a flour mill in Sakrand town of Shaheed Benazirabad while buying flour at the government rate.
Residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have complained of shortage of wheat flour and demanded the government to end the crisis and provide subsidized flour, VOA Diwa said in a tweet. According to the tweet, a resident of Peshawar has revealed that everyone, including the poor and the rich, is concerned about wheat flour. The resident said that a person can buy flour only once a week.
The News International reported that the situation has angered people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as tandoors have also increased the price of bread.
Apart from bread, all the bakery items are being sold at high prices. Thousands of people have to spend hours every day to get the subsidized bags, which are already in short supply, reports The News International. As The Express Tribune reports, the prices of all food items and other items have increased over the years and governments have not taken any measures to control the situation.
There have been several clashes between flour dealers and tandoors in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the past weeks over the issue of prices. A few days ago, a passer-by was killed in Pishtkhara after two locals clashed with a tandoor owner over the price of bread and then opened fire on him.
Several others were injured during the distribution of subsidized flour. The Express Tribune reported that sources have revealed that tensions between the federal and Punjab governments were responsible for the wheat crisis in Pakistan. Sources said that according to news reports, the Punjab Food Department had failed to estimate correctly how much wheat was required to be imported.
People are crying sitting on the streets for flour in Pakistan…#pakistan economy #Pakistan pic.twitter.com/U2Im8fYkL4— Jyot Jeet (@activeistjyot) January 10, 2023
Meanwhile, Balochistan’s Food Minister Zamark Achakzai has revealed that the wheat stock in the province was “completely exhausted”. He stressed that the crisis was “deep” for the commodity in Balochistan, The Express Tribune reported.
Zamark Achakzai, speaking at a press conference, said that Balochistan has not received the required stock of wheat. He said that Punjab Chief Minister Parvez Elahi has promised to send the entire stock. However, he did not fulfill the promise.
Addressing a press conference on this issue, Jamrak Achakzai said that Balochistan has not got the required stock of wheat. He said that Balochistan is 85 per cent dependent on Punjab and Sindh for wheat and both the provinces have banned the export of this commodity.
The Express Tribune quoted Jamrak Achakzai as saying, “Out of 200,000 bags of wheat, 10,000 bags have been received.” “He had requested the Chief Minister of Punjab to send 600,000 gunny bags,” he said.