Sindh may impose an inter-provincial ban on the import of wheat from Punjab within the next 2-3 days, official sources told Business Recorder here on Thursday.
The government of Sindh's decision, backed by some members in the Sindh Assembly, to impose an inter-provincial ban on the movement of wheat is unconstitutional as according to clause (3) of Article 151 of the constitution, "a Provincial assembly or a provincial government shall not have power to make any law, or take any executive action, prohibiting or restricting the entry into, or the export from, the province of goods of any class or description".
While according to Clause (4) of the same article, "an act of a provincial assembly which imposes any reasonable restriction in the interest of public health, public order or morality, or for the purpose of protecting animals or plants from disease or preventing or alleviating any serious shortage in the province of an essential commodity shall not, if it was made with the consent of the President, be invalid".
According to sources, the production of wheat in Sindh province is about 3 million tons while its consumption is around 5 million tons. "Sindh buys wheat from Punjab in order to meet its requirements, and yet inexplicably it is expected to ban inter-provincial movement," an official in the ministry of food and agriculture stated on condition of anonymity.
The official further accused Sindh Food Minister, Nadir Magsi, of setting up a private militia that stops wheat loaded trucks from entering Sindh from Punjab. In order to get the trucks released a payment has to be made to these militia men, the official further averred.
When Business Recorder contacted a top official of Punjab Food Department, he said on condition of anonymity, "if the government of Sindh is again going to ban wheat export from Punjab to Sindh, then we will have no alternative except to contact the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture to intervene by writing a letter to the responsible authorities".
Another reason behind the imposition of ban by the Sindh government is, he added, wheat exported from Punjab to Sindh is usually sold at comparatively cheaper rates to the flour mills. "That is why the Sindh government wants its wheat to be sold to the private sector not that of Punjab", the official disclosed.
Pakistan's total domestic wheat requirements are about 21.70 million tons for a population of about 175 million with the per capita consumption estimated at 124 kg per annum. During the last year wheat crop was severely disturbed in the Barani areas due to fewer rains, where soil moisture at sowing stage remained very low, which led to the production of no more than around 2.5 million tons of wheat annually on an area of 3 million acres.
Punjab will procure 3.5 million tons, Sindh 1.3 million tons, Passco 1.3 million tons, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) 0.4 million tons while Balochistan will procure 70,000 ton wheat this year. The strategic reserves of one million tons will be kept in all provinces and Passco according to their due share.
Last year public sector organisations including Punjab food department, Sindh food department and KPK food department procured over 7.5 million tons of wheat out of which 4 million tons of wheat was procured by Punjab, 1.5 million tons by Sindh, 1.5 million tons by Passco, 0.3 million tons by KPK and around 80,000 tons by Balochistan.