Thousands of farmers organised a big rally in Multan on Saturday afternoon to press authorities to save "our agriculture" Our economy",our sovereignty ," our exports and continue the subsidy of fertilizers, seed, electricity, farm imputs otherwise they Pakistan would have to get more loans.
The Pakistan Kissan Ittehad (PKI) staged a rally outside the Multan Press club and Chowk Nawan Shehr in Multan on Saturday (today) to protest against the imposition of new taxes on the electricity consumed by agriculture tubewells. Thousands of participant offered mock funeral prayer of "Agriculture"
PKI President Khalid Khokhar says Present Government is playing in the hands of interntional monetary fund (IMF),World bank etc and it was cutting the throats of farmers who are providing wheat, rice, maize, sugar to 220 million people. It had withdrawn subsidies on fertilizers, seed, farm implements and other inputs to please them. He warned that around Rs14 per unit had been added to the tubewell electricity tariff during the last two years. In 2019, there was a flat rate of Rs5.35 per unit but the incumbent government added Rs13.65 per unit to the tariff, increasing the cost of production of various agricultural produce, he says.
He says that members of the group will demonstrate in Lahore, Kasur and Okara too and final rally would be organised in Islamabad..He said that instead of resolving issues of the growers, the government is adding to their miseries.
In Faisalabad, farmers protested outside the deputy commissioner’s office against the shortage of fertiliser and its sale in the black market while the window for its utilization is closing fast.
Kissan Board Pakistan leaders say the condition of farmers is worsening due to destructive measures of rulers whose target is to save a tranche of 1.99 billion dollars at the cost of exports of more than 32 billion dollars, Agriculture of 50 billion dollars . Now traders were being targeted to recover taxes of 250 billion .He said that current flood has added to the miseries of the people.Their cotton crop was badly hit in Southern Punjab . There is no rescue operation to shift them and their cattle heads to safer places.
