NA committee concerned over lack of relief to farmers

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Special Committee on Agricultural Products on Thursday passed a resolution expressing grave concern over lack of any action taken in pursuance of the Prime Minister’s directions in June 2020, to provide relief to farmers on tube wells across Pakistan in June 2020.

The resolution expressed its anger over the undue and unjustified delay in implementing directives of the Prime Minister resulting in unfair treatment meted out to Pakistan’s poorest farmers.

The committee members included Minister for National Food Security Syed Fakhar Imam and legislators Muhammad Ihsan Ullah Tiwana, Shandana Gulzar Khan, Nafeesa Inayat Ullah Khan Khattak, Ayesha Ghaus Pasha, Nawab Muhammad Yusuf Talpur, Rai Muhammad Murtaza Iqbal, Mujahid Khan, Ch. Iftikhar Nazir, Sher Akbar Khan, Imran Khattak, Faizullah and Makhdoom Zain Hussain Qureshi.

The members of the committee expressed its dismay and disappointment that the delay had resulted in open discrimination against our primary food providers during the COVID-19 pandemic resulting in food supply distortions and high inflation of food over the country.

The committee highlighted that the relief in energy prices provided to the large scale and medium industry across Pakistan must be replicated for the hardest hit farmers, to ensure the survival of our farmers.

The committee reiterated the directives of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to ensure zero discrimination between different sectors of its production including industry and agriculture, which provided 45pc of employment to 65pc of its population and 100pc of Pakistan’s food security.

The committee unanimously called upon the government to ensure fairness, speedy justice and delivery of this justice to ensure Pakistan’s food security and relief in energy costs to the hardest hit farmers within month of November 2020, to ensure the farmers can take benefit of this relief in the current planting season.