MULTAN: Pakistan Kissan Ittehad President Khalid Mehmood Khokar has demanded that the government impose a ban on trade with India, as it is not in favour of the local farmers.
He said that the Indian government usually gives huge relief to those associated with the agriculture sector, while it was not the same in Pakistan.
He said that due to trade with India, some influential traders imported wheat from India and exported to Afghanistan, which resulted in a loss of billions to rupees to the national exchequer as well as the farmers.
He said that the Kissan Ittehad would stage a protest in front of the Prime Minister’s House against high prices of tube well in Punjab, as well as against the skyrocketing bills of electricity for tube wells. He said the union would stage the protest on March 8 to draw attention of the leaders.
He also said that the government had not provided a subsidy of Rs 12 billion to the farmers in Punjab. “The federal government has announced a subsidy for Rs 7 billion on wheat and Rs 5 billion on sugarcane to provide relief farmers, but it has not spent a single penny on the agriculture sector,” he added.
He said that the government should fix the bill of tube well at Rs 10,000 per tube well, like the Balochistan government has taken the initiative for the welfare of farmers. “The government should withdraw high unit prices of electricity to offer relief to farmers and the agriculture sector in Punjab.”
