ISLAMABAD: Amid modest agricultural growth of just 0.6 percent, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on Wednesday began mobilising support among farmers across the country, accusing the government of economic mismanagement and flawed agricultural policies.
The party convened a meeting of its Punjab Kissan Wing, pledging to launch a nationwide campaign in what it termed a decisive struggle for farmers’ rights and the release of jailed party patron-in-chief Imran Khan.
Held under the slogan “Khan Kay Kissan, Khushhal Pakistan; Kissan Dushmani, Pakistan Dushmani”, the event coincided with the release of economic data showing weak performance in the agricultural sector.
Speaking at the moot, PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja said the party would stand with the voiceless and the poor, urging unity among farmers and labourers against what he called a deeply entrenched elite-dominated system.
He severely criticised corporate farming practices and infrastructure projects he said disadvantaged smallholders, and pointed to widespread poverty, school dropouts and malnutrition as indicators of systemic failure.
PTI spokesman Sheikh Waqas Akram, who also heads the Kissan Wing, accused the government of targeting farmers in Punjab in retaliation for their support of PTI during the February general elections in 2024. He said the administration’s failure to support agriculture had led to declines across 13 major crops.
PTI Chairman Gohar Khan blamed successive governments for what he described as longstanding neglect of agriculture, which he said supports up to 70 percent of the country’s population either directly or indirectly. “Food security must be treated as a national emergency,” he said, calling for urgent modernisation of the sector. He said the recently released Economic Survey for 2024-25 exposed the disappointing performance of the current administration, which he claimed had failed to meet its targets despite International Monetary Fund (IMF) backing.
He also vowed that PTI would push for greater representation of farmers in budgetary decisions at both federal and provincial levels.
Malik Ahmad Khan Bhachar, Opposition Leader in the Punjab Assembly, accused the government of suppressing farmers, while PTI lawmaker Shahid Khattak praised Imran Khan’s previous efforts to reduce the role of middlemen and improve crop pricing mechanisms.
Speakers at the convention also denounced what they described as the “unlawful detention” of Khan, accusing the government of silencing dissent. They pledged to continue their campaign “till the last breath” to resist what they termed systems of “oppression and exploitation.”
The gathering concluded with calls to expand PTI’s farmer wings across the country, amid growing speculation that Khan could soon issue a formal protest call.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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