LAHORE: To provide relief to the people of Punjab, Punjab Chief Minister Hamza Shehbaz on Thursday announced a Rs 200 billion relief package under which the price of a 10 kg flour bag was reduced from Rs 650 to Rs 490.
“The Punjab government is giving a relief of Rs 160 on each bag, which will be available in all districts and the people will not have to stand in queues for flour in Punjab. I want to tell you today that the government is standing with its people in difficult times”, he said while addressing a press conference.
He also said that his government has met the wheat procurement target of 4.5 million maund set for this year.
“The rate of wheat is $ 500 per ton or Rs 4,000 per maund in the international market, but we procured the wheat at Rs 2,200 per maund”, he added.
He further said that they have procured the wheat after clearing the dues of the farmers and the government has the stock for one year.
He also accused the previous Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government of creating a fertiliser shortage and supplying poor seeds to the farmers.
Meanwhile, in response to Imran Khan’s remarks at the party’s Gujranwala rally, the CM criticised former prime minister and PTI Chairman Imran Khan for dividing the army. “Imran Khan says that family members of the armed forces will be in his rally. What is he trying to do by trying to involve state institutions in politics”, he added.
“The country’s economy is on a ventilator and the political uncertainty is at its peak, but Khan is making efforts to create division in the army; he is not doing politics but spreading hatred in the name of politics”, he added.
He asked the people and the institutions to keep an eye on the PTI chairman who is damaging the country. He also pointed out that Khan had angered Pakistan’s friends through his conspiracy allegations and halted CPEC projects.
He complained that from day one in the office PTI created obstacles in his way. “I had not been able to form a cabinet due to the former Punjab governor and the president.”
“Both are working on the whims of Khan and yet he asks why the courts were open late at night. If the courts had not opened that night, then we all would have been in a banana republic by now”, he added.
The CM also attacked Punjab Assembly Speaker Pervaiz Elahi by saying that he is the custodian of the House but he used hooligans in uniforms to attack the Assembly.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022