Restrictions on sale of urea fertilizer in KP comes under fire in NA

ISLAMABAD: The federal government’s restrictions on sale of urea fertilizer in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa came under fire in National Assembly on Wednesday, with opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) lawmakers warning that the “security measure” was hurting the farmers.

PTI MNA Asad Qaiser, through a calling-attention notice, challenged the restrictions on urea, a vital agricultural input in the province.

Responding to the notice, Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer said the restrictions had been imposed following recent terrorist incidents in KP in which, according to him, urea had allegedly been used.

He acknowledged that urea was an essential agricultural input, saying that around three million metric tonnes were consumed annually in the province.

He said the government was working on a “track and trade” mechanism to monitor the movement and distribution of fertilizer and prevent its diversion for purposes other than agriculture.

A committee headed by the Secretary Industries and Production and including the Director General Military Operations had been given one month to examine the restrictions and recommend a way forward, he said.

Qaiser rejected the restrictions as disproportionate, arguing that security concerns should not be addressed by effectively placing the farming community under suspicion.

He demanded the immediate withdrawal of the restrictions, warning that they were affecting around 1.3 million farmers across the province.

The PTI lawmaker also raised the issue of taxation on tobacco, saying farmers were being pushed to the point of burning their crops.

He questioned what tangible improvement had been made in the security situation despite restrictions being placed on agricultural supplies.

The minister said the government wanted to resolve the matter at the earliest and acknowledged that tobacco growers also had outstanding grievances.

The House also heard a call for an inquiry into the discovery of thousands of allegedly illegal Pakistani passports in Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) MNA Sharmila Faruqui questioned who was behind the issuance of the documents and warned that the reported discovery of around 5,000 passports could represent only a fraction of a much larger problem.

“If 5,000 have been caught in Saudi Arabia alone, how many such passports are there around the world,” she asked.

She demanded that Director General of Passports Muhammad Ali Randhawa be summoned before the House to explain the government’s policy for preventing the issuance and circulation of fraudulent passports.

Describing the matter as one of national embarrassment, she called for a clear explanation of how the government intended to tackle the problem.

The plight of 17 people reportedly held by Somali pirates, including 10 Pakistanis, also triggered a tense exchange in the House.

PPP MNA Abdul Qadir Patel questioned why five months had passed without the hostages being released and asked how much longer their families would have to wait.

Responding to a calling-attention notice, Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Tariq Fazal Chaudhry said the 10 Pakistanis were part of a group for whose release pirates had demanded a USD 3 million ransom.

He said the government was making efforts to secure their freedom but ruled out paying the ransom, warning that doing so could have “negative consequences”.

MQM-P MNA Farooq Sattar asked whether the government had contacted the vessel’s owners, recalling Pakistan’s previous efforts to secure the release of hostages held by Somali pirates.

He offered to allocate Rs750 million from development funds to help secure their release.

At the outset of the session, political tensions flared as PTI lawmaker Amir Dogar criticised the government over the absence of ministers and the lack of quorum in the House.

Dogar said the government had assured the Business Advisory Committee that most cabinet members would attend the proceedings, but only Chaudhry was present at the time.

He announced that the opposition would boycott the proceedings until ministers attended the House and appealed to PPP lawmakers to join the protest.

PPP lawmakers subsequently began leaving the chamber after PPP MNA Naveed Qamar signalled them to do so.

With the required quorum missing, the deputy speaker ordered an adjournment. The proceedings were later resumed.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026